KR20160108104A - Device and method for compensating color - Google Patents

Abstract

A color correction method in an image forming apparatus, comprising: a first image forming apparatus forming a first color chart; Scanning the image formed first color chart; Comparing information of the scanned first color chart and information of a reference color chart to determine an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile of the first image forming apparatus; And correcting color of the first image forming apparatus based on the determined ICC profile. . ≪ / RTI >

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a color correction method,

The present disclosure relates to a color correction method and apparatus therefor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a color correction method for outputting a color desired by a user in an image forming apparatus, and an apparatus therefor.

The image forming apparatus such as a printer may have different colors depending on the image forming type (e.g., ink, laser, etc.), model, manufacturer, and the like. Since the physical characteristics and the policy of the toner and the like may be different for each manufacturer, there may be a difference in color and the like with respect to the output. Even in the image forming apparatus of the same model, the color of the printed matter output depending on the management environment (for example, temperature, humidity, etc.) and the use period may be different.

Further, the user may desire to output to the A image forming apparatus with attributes such as the color of the B image forming apparatus. For example, when it is desired to use the color tone of the B image forming apparatus in the A image forming apparatus, a step of color correction is required, and the user may not be able to easily correct the color.

Therefore, in order to output the color of the tone according to the user's taste, the color correction method of the image forming apparatus should be provided for the convenience of the user. In this disclosure, a method more convenient for the user than the conventional color correction method is provided .

Conventionally, in order to correct the color of the image forming apparatus, an ICC profile is generated using a colorimeter. By using the colorimetry equipment, the hue of the printed matter output from the image forming apparatus was measured to generate an ICC profile based on the result of the colorimetry, and the color was corrected by applying the ICC profile to the image forming apparatus. However, in such a case, it is considerably burdensome for the user to use or use the expensive colorimetry equipment, and there is an inconvenience that the method of using the control software of the colorimetry equipment and the color correction method are not easily provided to general consumers.

To alleviate this inconvenience, the manufacturer provided a chart as a hardcopy in standard colors, using a scanner. The ICC profile can be determined based on the RGB (Red-Green-Blue) value of the scanned image information by scanning the printed material provided by the manufacturer. However, in this method, since the user must have the printed matter, there is inconvenience that the user must purchase the image forming apparatus through the purchase of the image forming apparatus or the mail, and if the management of the printed matter is neglected, the original may be lost, damaged or contaminated And could be corrected to an unintended color.

As described above, the conventional color correcting method has a problem that it is difficult for the user to maintain the state of the image forming apparatus which is applied for the first time for various reasons, and thus the function of calibrating the state of the image forming apparatus to the user Is required. Thus, the present disclosure provides a more improved color correction method.

In some embodiments of the present invention, by comparing the color chart of the image forming apparatus and the reference color chart, the ICC profile to be applied to the image forming apparatus can be determined, and the color of the image forming apparatus can be corrected through the determined ICC profile.

In addition, this color correction method can allow a user without professional equipment or software to easily reproduce the colors of other printers.

As a technical means for achieving the above-mentioned technical object, one aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a color image forming apparatus, comprising: forming a first color chart by a first image forming apparatus; Scanning the image formed first color chart; Comparing information of the scanned first color chart and information of a reference color chart to determine an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile of the first image forming apparatus; And correcting color of the first image forming apparatus based on the determined ICC profile. And a color correction method.

In addition, the reference color chart may be a predetermined color chart selected by a user of the first image forming apparatus.

Further, the reference color chart may be an image formed color chart in the second image forming apparatus.

In addition, the information of the reference color chart may be information obtained by scanning the reference color chart in the first image forming apparatus.

The comparison of the scanned first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart may include comparing attributes of the first color chart and attributes of the reference color chart.

In addition, the attributes of the first color chart and the reference color chart may include at least one of hue, saturation, and brightness.

The step of comparing the scanned first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart may further include converting the RGB values at the predetermined positions of the first color chart and the reference color chart into different color coordinate systems ; And And comparing color information on the converted color coordinate system.

The method may further include storing the first color chart information and the reference color chart information first.

In addition, the step of determining the ICC profile may include the steps of excluding an ICC profile out of a predetermined range out of a plurality of previously stored ICC profiles; And determining an ICC profile having the reference color chart and attributes within a predetermined range.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method comprising: identifying a first printer in a smartphone that requires color correction; Receiving information on a second printer as a reference of color correction; Transmitting color coordinate system information from the smartphone to the first printer and the second printer; Receiving first color coordinate system image information output from the first printer and second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer; Comparing the received first color coordinate system image information and the second color coordinate system image information to determine a color correction value; And transmitting the determined color correction value to the first printer; And a color correction method.

The receiving of the first color coordinate system image information output from the first printer and the second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer may include receiving the first color coordinate system image using the image sensor of the smartphone, And photographing the second color coordinate system image.

The receiving of the first color coordinate system image information output from the first printer and the second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer may include receiving the first color coordinate system image scanned by the scanner and the second color coordinate system image scanned by the scanner, And receiving information about the coordinate system image.

Further, the reference color chart may be an image-formed color chart in a second image forming apparatus that is separate from the image forming apparatus.

In addition, the information of the reference color chart may be information obtained by scanning the reference color chart in the image forming apparatus.

The controller may compare the attributes of the first color chart and the attributes of the reference color chart when comparing the scanned first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart.

In addition, the attributes of the first color chart and the reference color chart may include at least one of hue, saturation, and brightness.

In addition, when the scanned first color chart information and the reference color chart information are compared, the controller changes the RGB values at the predefined positions of the first color chart and the reference color chart to another color coordinate system , And the color information on the converted color coordinate system can be compared.

In addition, the image forming apparatus may further include a storage unit for first storing the first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart.

In addition, the controller may determine an ICC profile having the reference color chart and an attribute within a predetermined range, after excluding an ICC profile out of a predetermined range from a plurality of previously stored ICC profiles.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: a control unit for identifying a first printer that requires color correction in a smartphone, comparing the received first color coordinate system image information and the second color coordinate system image information to determine a color correction value; Transmitting a discovery packet to identify the first printer, receiving information on a second printer as a reference for color correction, transmitting color coordinate system information to the first printer and the second printer, A communication unit receiving the first color coordinate system image information output from the printer and the second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer, and transmitting the determined color correction value to the first printer; A camera unit for photographing first color coordinate system image information output from the first printer and second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer; , Which may be a smartphone.

1 is a view for explaining a case where color correction is required according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a color correction process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
3 is a diagram showing an example of a color chart according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 is a view showing an HSV color coordinate system representing a color according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a color correction process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer color table according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a diagram illustrating a color correction method for a plurality of printers according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a diagram illustrating transmission of a profile via a server in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.
9 is a diagram illustrating a color correction method using a smartphone according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
10 is a diagram illustrating a method of color correction between a smartphone and an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
11 is a diagram showing an example of a correction chart according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
12 is a block diagram showing the structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
13 is a block diagram showing another structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
14 is a block diagram showing the structure of a multifunction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
15 is a block diagram showing another structure of the multifunction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The terms used in this specification will be briefly described and the present invention will be described in detail.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Also, in certain cases, there may be a term selected arbitrarily by the applicant, in which case the meaning thereof will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term, not on the name of a simple term, but on the entire contents of the present invention.

When an element is referred to as "including" an element throughout the specification, it is to be understood that the element may include other elements as well, without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Also, the terms "part," " module, "and the like described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another part in between . Also, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without departing from the other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

Also, devices herein may be interchanged with "devices" or "devices", and "devices", "devices" and "devices" may be described in the same language.

In the present specification, the device information of the device is information indicating the attributes of the device and the device. For example, the device information includes the identification value of the device, the type of the device, the type and the attribute of the sensing data sensed by the device, And may include information about the period.

Also, in this specification, a service may include various services that can be performed in the device. A service may include a service based on communication with a server or other device, and a service operable in the device. It is desirable that the service applied to the present disclosure be understood in broad terms to include various services that can be performed in the device in addition to the services described by way of example in this disclosure.

The technique disclosed in this specification can be utilized in all fields where device-to-device communication is possible. As described above, if the inter-device communication is possible such as Internet of Things (IoT), ubiquitous service, smart home, and connected car service, this technology can be applied Are obvious to those skilled in the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view for explaining a case where color correction is required according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is presupposed that the image forming apparatus A 11 of FIG. 1 can output the color printed matter A 115 and the image forming apparatus B 12 can output the color printed matter B 125.

When the image forming apparatus outputs a printed matter of color, the color output of the color printed matter may be changed for various reasons for the same color output command. For example, by using an image forming apparatus such as a printer for a long period of time, colors of printed matter output from one image forming apparatus may be different depending on time factors such as consuming internal parts or changing the engine condition.

Also, the color of the color printed matter may vary depending on the spatial environment of the image forming apparatus. For example, the image forming apparatus A (11) can be located in a high temperature and humid climate, and the image forming apparatus B (12) can be located in a low temperature and a dry climate. In this case, even if the image forming apparatus of the same model is used, the color of the printed matter may be different.

In the case of outputting different colors for the same color command, the accuracy and reliability of the printed matter can be reduced, and it is necessary to restore the reference color through color correction.

Color correction may be required for other reasons in addition to the color correction corresponding to the color change depending on the temporal and spatial factors of the image forming apparatus. It may be necessary to change the color to a preferred tone of the user of the image forming apparatus. For example, when the user prefers the red color, it is necessary to increase the saturation to make the red color redder, Lt; / RTI >

Further, even when the user changes the image forming apparatus, the color of the new image forming apparatus can be corrected if it is desired to output the color tone of the image forming apparatus which has been used previously. Alternatively, even when it is desired to apply the hue of a printed matter outputted from another image forming apparatus to an image forming apparatus which the user uses, color correction may be required.

Therefore, various color correction methods are being introduced as color correction is required. As a most intuitive color correction method, there is a method of directly measuring the color of a printed matter of the image forming apparatus using a colorimeter to correct the color. Although it is the most intuitive and accurate method, since the colorimetric equipment is expensive, it is troublesome for the user to purchase or rent, and the software and the color correction software for using the colorimetric equipment are also required to be used by ordinary users, It may not provide convenience to the user.

In order to solve the problem of the colorimetric apparatus, each manufacturer proposed a color correction method using a scanner. However, when a printed matter is scanned using a scanner, there is a problem that the difference value can be corrected by using a color chart as a reference. Accordingly, each manufacturer provided a reference color chart by directly providing a hardcopy of the reference color chart when the user purchases the image forming apparatus, or by mailing it when the user requests it.

However, the conventional color correction method using the reference color chart original may be lost, damaged or contaminated when the user has neglected to manage the reference color chart provided at the time of purchase, and the color of the original itself may be deformed , There is a spatial time limitation to receive the information from the manufacturer again, and the user is often unable to provide convenience.

Hereinafter, in the present disclosure, a method for correcting the color of a printer without an expensive colorimeter or a reference color chart as a method for solving the above-mentioned problems will be described.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a color correction process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The color correction method proposed in the present disclosure may be a method of color duplication, which means a method of applying an ICC profile of a reference hue to an image forming apparatus. The color replication method can be largely explained as including four steps of color chart output, scanning, image analysis and ICC profile determination.

First, in step S210, the user can instruct to output the color of the image forming apparatus for color correction of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus may output a first color chart when receiving an instruction of color output, wherein the first color chart may be a color chart of a predetermined format. The predefined format of a color chart may refer to a color chart of a predetermined format for outputting a specific color at a specific location on a printed matter.

In step S220, the user can scan a color chart using a scanner, and there may be two color charts to be scanned at this time. One color chart may be the first color chart output from the image forming apparatus that was output in step S210, that is, the color correction is required.

The scanner may scan the reference color chart in addition to the first color chart. The reference color chart may be a reference color chart provided by the standard association or a specific manufacturer or organization, for example, manufacturer A may guide the ICB to output an ICC profile as a reference color chart for its image forming apparatus .

Alternatively, it may be a color chart selected according to the user's preference. For example, a user may wish to select a particular color chart as a reference color chart and apply it to the color of the image forming apparatus with the color of the color chart.

The scanner can obtain the first color chart image information and the reference color chart image information by scanning the first color chart and the reference color chart. The scanner may transmit the acquired first color chart image information and reference color chart image information to the control unit.

In step S230, the control unit of the image forming apparatus can compare the acquired first color chart image information and the reference color chart image information. In the case of the default color chart, since the specific color was output at a specific location, it is possible to compare the two charts based on this format.

The control unit can digitize the difference value of the color, and based on the difference value data, it is possible to distinguish which color is different and to determine how much difference there is.

The scanned first color chart image information and the reference color chart image information may be represented by a color defined on a Red-Green-Blue (RGB) color coordinate system. In the RGB color coordinate system, the difference between the values of the colors of the two charts can be determined.

In the present disclosure, it is disclosed that color difference values can be determined on various color coordinate systems in addition to the RGB color coordinate system. For example, the HSV color coordinate system (or color space) can determine the degree of hue, saturation, and brightness by placing a color coordinate system with hue, saturation, and brightness. It is obvious that the color difference can be determined by comparing the color values on various color coordinate systems such as the CMYK color coordinate system (color space).

In step S240, the control unit may compare the first color chart image information and the reference color image information to determine an ICC profile to be applied to the first image forming apparatus. The ICC profile is a profile used in a color management system conforming to the International Color Consortium (ICC) standard, and is a profile used in monitors, printers, and the like. Is a standard for precisely and consistently managing the color of a color print output from a large number of image forming apparatuses and can be provided in consideration of printing conditions such as paper and ink type or toner type when an ICC profile is generated.

The method for determining the ICC profile may vary, and in the present disclosure, as an example, an ICC profile that deviates from a predetermined range among a plurality of ICC profiles may be excluded. If the color difference value is large, since the probability that the controller will be determined as a new ICC profile is considerably small, it can be firstly excluded to reduce the amount of calculation in the controller.

The controller can determine the ICC profile that is most similar to the reference color chart, among ICC profiles that are primarily excluded ICC profiles, i.e., filtered ICC profiles.

The ICC profile determined at the control section is applied to the image forming apparatus as a new ICC profile of the image forming apparatus, and can be color duplicated to a color value substantially similar to the reference color chart.

3 is a diagram showing an example of a color chart according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In this disclosure, the color chart may be a color chart predetermined by an association or manufacturer.

The color chart may include information indicating the direction of the color chart, so that the position and color value of each color can be determined. For example, an arrow 310 is displayed in the upper left corner of the color chart to guide the scanning direction and the like. Therefore, it can be seen that the same color is displayed at the same position, so that the difference in color can be accurately determined.

The color chart can display various color values as various saturations. For example, it is possible to display CMYK colors, that is, colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, It can be displayed in saturation value units. As shown in FIG. 3, the color chart may be divided into two colors, black and sK and cK.

In addition, the color chart may also display the colors in which specific colors are blended together. For example, M + 2C colors in which magenta (M) color and cyan (C) . The color chart can be displayed as a color chart that can be displayed in a predetermined manner in various other colors and various combinations.

In FIG. 3, the information value of the color chart (for example, Samsung Service Chart No. 1 V1.0) is displayed on the upper right 320 so as to be distinguishable. However, It should be noted that it is possible to display an identifier by various images other than text, a bar code QR code, RFID, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an HSV color coordinate system representing a color according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the present invention, the scanned image is a coordinate system represented by an RGB color coordinate system. The controller converts the RGB color coordinate system into an HSV color coordinate system, and converts the RGB color coordinate system into an HSV color coordinate system The comparison of color difference values will be described as an example. However, the color coordinate system or the color space is not necessarily limited to the color coordinate system or the color space, and it is sufficient that the color coordinate system or the color space can efficiently process the color difference in the control unit.

The HSV color coordinate system is one method of representing colors, and colors can be arranged according to a predetermined method.

The HSV color coordinate system will be briefly described. In the HSV color coordinate system, there are three axes, and the hue axis arranges the visible ray spectrum in the form of a ring in the counterclockwise direction. When the color is 0 degree, it indicates red color.

The Saturaion axis is a measure of darkness at the same brightness, with 0% saturation (eg white, gray and black) and 100% saturation indicating the darkest color. With respect to the V axis, the farther from the V axis, the greater the saturation value may be.

Value is the degree of brightness, and brightness 0% indicates only black color. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, in the HSV color coordinate system, the portion having the lowest brightness (V) is represented by a black dot, and as the brightness value increases, the brightness of each color is displayed. have. Or in the form of a cylinder, and in the case of a cylinder, the underside can all be displayed in black.

The controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can convert the image information of the scanned color chart into the color values on the above-mentioned HSV color coordinate system, and can determine the color difference value.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a color correction process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the hue of the first image forming apparatus 510 is to be corrected, the hue can be corrected on the basis of the hue value of the second image forming apparatus 520 as a reference. For example, a color correction may be performed to color duplicate a tone of a color of a second image forming apparatus that the user has used in the first image forming apparatus newly purchased. As another example, the user may prefer to apply the color of the printed matter output from the second image forming apparatus 520 to the first image forming apparatus 510 to perform color correction.

At this time, the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus may be a printer or a multifunction peripheral (MFP). In the case of the multifunction apparatus, the print output from the first image forming apparatus can be scanned again, as the printer and the scanner are physically combined.

It is assumed that the ICC profile of the first image forming apparatus 510 is determined on the basis of the reference color chart 525 output from the second image forming apparatus 520, 510) It is also possible to output a first color chart 515 which can indicate the color state of the first image forming apparatus 510. [

The scanner of the first image forming apparatus 510 can scan the first color chart 515 and the reference color chart 525 and convert them into image information that can be processed.

A method for providing convenience to the user in a method of scanning the first color chart 515 and the reference color chart 525 will be described. In general, the user of the scanner can confuse the orientation of the paper (landscape or portrait), and it is difficult to accurately recognize the top, bottom, left and right sides of the paper. Thus, after scanning, the scanned image can be rotated or reversed to obtain a forward scanned image there was.

In the scanning method proposed in the present disclosure, by using the identification information of the color chart to be scanned, the control unit detects the direction of the paper sheet and converts the image in the forward direction.

For example, when a user uses a scanner, when a first color chart 515 is placed in a landscape and a scanning command is issued, the control unit displays identification information of the first color chart 515 (e.g., , Text or image) to be transformed into image information of the first color chart 515 in the forward direction (vertical direction).

Further, the identification information can be utilized according to the scanning range of the scanner of the first image forming apparatus 510. [ In the case of the office image forming apparatus, the first color chart 515 and the reference color chart 525 outputted on A4 paper can be scanned at one time because the scanning range can be A3 or more on the basis of the paper size. However, in the case of a home image forming apparatus, the scanning range is about A4, so there may be a limit in which the first color chart 515 and the reference color chart 525 can not be scanned at a time.

In this case, the control unit can determine which color chart is the reference color chart, by identifying the scanned color chart, using the identification information of the scanned image regardless of the end of the scanning process.

When the above-described method is more efficiently provided to a user, in the case of an office image forming apparatus, when two color charts are scanned at the same time, the color chart can be converted into color chart image information in a forward direction There is an advantageous effect.

The image information of the scanned color chart may be displayed in RGB color and the image information of the first color chart 515 may be denoted R1G1B1 and the image information of the reference color chart 525 may be denoted R2G2B2 .

Upon receiving the image information of the first color chart 515 and the image information of the reference color chart 525 in the scanner, the controller can convert the RGB color into the HSV color. For example, the image information R1G1B1 of the first color chart may be converted to H1S1V1, and the image information R2G2B2 of the reference color chart may be converted to H2S2V2.

The control unit can compare the H1S1V1 color and the H2S2V2 color to obtain the color difference value. The difference of the color values may be determined by dividing the color difference (H Diff), the chroma difference (S Diff), and the brightness difference (V Diff).

The control unit can determine the difference H'S'V 'in the color of the first image forming apparatus, based on the difference (H Diff, S Diff, V Diff) between hue, saturation and brightness.

The control unit can convert the new H'S'V 'color value to the R'G'B' value, which can be understood as the inverse conversion level of the previously converted RGB color coordinate system into the HSV color coordinate system.

The control unit can determine a value to be matched in a lookup table (LUT) based on the R'G'B 'value. Then, it is converted into a value on the CMYK color coordinate system, and can be applied to the color ICC profile of the first image forming apparatus 510.

6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer color table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The first image forming apparatus can correct the hue and store the value of the hue to be corrected based on the difference value of hue, as mentioned in Fig. Therefore, it is also possible to apply the value of the color to be corrected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

As shown in Fig. 6, each of the image forming apparatuses can have a unique ICC profile, so that the control unit can obtain the ICC profile of each of the image forming apparatuses. The method of acquiring can be achieved by receiving an ICC profile of each image forming apparatus through a network search, or stored in a storage section of the image forming apparatus, and acquired as various paths stored in a server or the like.

The control unit can generate the ICC profile collectively by calculating the corrected ICC profile value for each image forming apparatus model or for each image forming apparatus.

7 is a diagram illustrating a color correction method for a plurality of image forming apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, a method of applying a color of one reference printer to the colors of a plurality of printers (color duplication) will be described. For example, if there are a plurality of printers, and the color of any one of the plurality of printers is based on a user, the color of the reference printers may be applied to the remaining printers .

5, a method of performing color correction using a reference color chart in one of the first image forming apparatuses has been described. In this figure, the image printed matter 725 in the reference printer 720 may be a reference color chart. In addition to the first image forming apparatus 710, there are a plurality of image forming apparatuses 730 and 740, and the ICC profile can be determined collectively.

First, the reference printer 720 can form the reference color chart 725, and each of the image forming apparatuses 710, 730, and 740 to be subjected to color correction can output the respective color charts. For example, the color chart output from the image forming apparatus A 710 may be the first color chart 715, and the color chart output from the image forming apparatus B 730 may be the third color chart 735 And the color chart output from the image forming apparatus C 740 may be the fourth color chart 745.

The scanner of the image forming apparatus can scan the reference color chart and other color charts 715, 735 and 745. [

The scanner may be in the form of a combined machine, i.e., in combination with any one of a plurality of printers 710, 720, 730, and 740, and may be a scanner that is independent from a plurality of printers 710 to 740, .

However, when a plurality of scanners exist, for example, the image forming apparatus A 710 is also a multifunction apparatus, and the image forming apparatus B 730 is also a multifunction apparatus, it is preferable to perform scanning using only one of the scanners. When the first color chart 715 is scanned in the image forming apparatus A 710 and the third color chart 735 is scanned in the image forming apparatus B 730, Since it can be scanned with a color chart image having an error that does not exist.

In this description, it is assumed that only the image forming apparatus A 710 has a scanner as a multifunction apparatus. The image forming apparatus A 710 can scan the first color chart 715, the reference color chart 725, the third color chart 735 and the fourth color chart 745 to obtain scanning image information .

The control unit of the image forming apparatus A 710 may analyze the scanned image information to determine the difference in color values of the respective color charts. The difference value between the reference color chart 725 and the color of each color chart is determined and can be stored in the storage unit of the image forming apparatus A 710. [

The image forming apparatus A 710 can send an ICC profile suitable for each image forming apparatus to the other image forming apparatuses 730 and 740 and the image forming apparatuses can perform color correction by applying the corrected ICC profile have.

8 is a diagram illustrating transmission of a profile via a server in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in Fig. 8, a newly determined ICC profile in the image forming apparatus can be transmitted or received via the network. For example, the ICC profiles may be stored in advance in the server, and the user may perform color correction by applying a pre-stored ICC profile to the image forming apparatus by connecting to the server.

An application such as a smart color manager can be used to connect to the server, and the ICC profile matched thereto can be provided by transmitting the image forming apparatus model or related identification information to the server.

Alternatively, the user may directly select a desired ICC profile in the server by referring to an example image or the like. An image displayed at the time of application is displayed on a display device such as a monitor by ICC profiles stored in the server, thereby providing an opportunity for the user to select.

In addition, the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus or the individual user can variously generate and save the ICC profile on the server, thereby applying the ICC profile conforming to the condition to the image forming apparatus used by users connecting to the server.

When an ICC profile is applied to an image forming apparatus, there is an advantageous effect that it is possible to provide a plurality of users using the image forming apparatus with a print of a uniform color tone. However, the preferred color tone may be different for each user. Thus, the control unit of the image forming apparatus can perform the customized color correction by matching the ICC profile for each user using the image forming apparatus.

The manner in which the image forming apparatus identifies the user may vary. For example, it is possible to identify the user by receiving operation information of a computer, a tablet, or the like connected to the image forming apparatus via wired or wireless. When the user log-in to the web mail on the computer, the image forming apparatus can receive login information or the like to identify the user.

Or may identify the user by analyzing information (e.g., a file) to be output from the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus that has received the information to be output may analyze the output information to identify the user. For example, the final author of the ABC.doc file to be output can be regarded as a user.

9 is a diagram illustrating a color correction method using a smartphone according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

The user can perform color correction using a mobile phone such as a smart phone. When using a smartphone, there is an advantageous effect that an intuitive user interface (UI) can be provided to a user through an application of a smart phone.

The smartphone of the user can be connected to the image forming apparatus by wired or wireless. For example, a smartphone and an image forming apparatus may be connected to a local area network such as Bluetooth, NFC, or the like, or may be connected to a smart phone with a cable. The color difference value can be determined in the control section of the smartphone by printing and acquiring the color chart in each image forming apparatus.

Thereafter, the control unit of the smart phone can transmit the ICC profile suitable for each image forming apparatus or selected by the user, and each image forming apparatus can perform color correction by applying the ICC profile received from the smart phone.

More specifically, the user can first execute an application related to color correction in a smartphone. Thereafter, the smart phone can search the image forming apparatus to be subjected to color correction. A method for searching an image forming apparatus in a smart phone is a method in which a smart phone broadcasts a discovery request packet to the smartphone and receives a discovery response packet from the image forming apparatus, The image forming apparatus can be searched.

The user can select from among the one or more image forming devices searched. Only one image forming apparatus may be selected, or a plurality of image forming apparatuses may be selected.

The application of the smart phone may be connected to the image forming apparatus selected by the user to obtain the output profile information of the image forming apparatus. Applications of smart phones can perform color duplication functions.

The user can select the preferred image forming apparatus as the reference image forming apparatus by searching the image forming apparatus. The application of the smart phone may instruct to transmit the color chart to the selected reference image forming apparatus. The application of the smart phone can also command to send color charts to an image forming apparatus that requires color correction.

Thereafter, the application of the smart phone can search the image forming apparatus supporting the scanning function. It is also possible to search for an image forming apparatus that supports the scanning function among these, or to search for an image forming apparatus that separately supports the scanning function, using information obtained by searching the image forming apparatus.

The application of the smart phone can provide a displayed UI to allow the user to select an image forming apparatus that supports the scanning function.

The user can scan the reference color chart and the first color chart through the image forming apparatus in which the selected scanning function is supported. The reference color chart is a color chart output from the reference image forming apparatus, and the first color chart may be a color chart output from an image forming apparatus requiring color correction.

At this time, the color charts may be displayed together with the mark (indicating the source) that displays the output printer, and in the smartphone application, the scanned color chart image information may be matched with the image forming apparatus .

Alternatively, the user may identify the color charts by allowing the user to scan the color chart according to the order in which they are presented in the application of the smartphone.

If the user's image forming apparatus is not a multifunction apparatus, that is, if a scanner is not provided, the above color correction method may not be available. However, most users are equipped with mobile phones such as smart phones, and images can be taken by incorporating image sensors in smart phones and the like. Accordingly, the image information of the reference color chart and the first color chart can be obtained by replacing the scanner with an image sensor of the smart phone, that is, a camera.

The controller of the smart phone can obtain RGB values at specific positions of the color chart based on the color chart image information and convert them into the HSV color coordinate system, respectively. The HSV value of the image forming apparatus requiring color correction and the HSV value of the reference image forming apparatus can be compared to determine the difference in color values. The controller of the smartphone may generate a lookup table (LUT) that compensates for differences in the HSV chromaticity coordinate system by reflecting the difference in the determined color values.

The control unit of the smart phone can generate color information of R'G'B 'using the color difference compensation lookup table, and can use the RGB to CMYK method stored in each image forming apparatus using an interpolation scheme To create RGB to C'M'Y'K 'profiles. In each image forming apparatus, the profile can be stored and output in a color similar to the output color of the reference printer.

Here, the RGB to CMYK table is a value that is known in the manufacturing process of the image forming apparatus, and may be information acquired in advance through the application of the smart phone.

10 is a diagram illustrating a method of color correction between a smartphone and an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 10, a color can be calibrated through a smart phone application using a smart phone.

The smartphone can search the image forming apparatus to which the calibration is to be applied. At this time, the smart phone can distinguish whether the image formatting apparatus to be searched includes a self scanning function, that is, whether the scanner is a combined apparatus. Whether or not the scanner is included can be determined using the information of the image forming apparatus that is received by the smartphone.

When the image forming apparatus to be calibrated by the user is selected, the application program of the smart phone can be connected to the image forming apparatus selected by the user via wired / wireless lines to obtain the output profile information of the image forming apparatus. As described above, the number of image forming apparatuses to which the calibration is to be applied may be one, or two or more may be acceptable.

Applications on the smartphone can perform color calibration. In smartphone applications, you can send calibration charts to printers to which you want to apply calibration. The application program of the smart phone can provide the image forming apparatus that supports the scanning function to the user through the display of the smartphone and the user can scan the correction chart outputted using the scanner of the image forming apparatus selected by the user .

As in FIG. 9, if the scanner is not provided, image information of the correction chart can be obtained by photographing the correction chart using the camera unit of the smartphone.

The controller of the smart phone can analyze the photographed chart image for correction to obtain the RGB value of the specific position and judge the current state of the image forming apparatus engine.

The control unit of the smartphone may generate a reference gamma table used for correction of the dither table based on the determined current state of the engine.

The controller of the smartphone can control to transmit the generated reference gradation gamma table to the printer to which the calibration is applied. The controller of the smartphone may transmit a calibration command to the image forming apparatus that has received the reference gradation table.

When receiving the calibration command from the image forming apparatus that receives the reference grade gamma table, the color pattern can be output so that the toner density of the engine can be checked and the value can be measured through the mounted sensor.

The image forming apparatus can correct the output density of the dither table by referring to the value measured by the toner density sensor and the reference gamma table. The calibration operation can be periodically corrected based on the reference gradation gamma so that the color desired by the user does not change over time, so that the initially set color of the image forming apparatus can be maintained.

11 is a diagram showing an example of a correction chart according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in Fig. 11, the correction chart used for the calibration has various saturation and brightness of various colors, and the arrangement of the colors can also be performed in various ways. Since analyzing the color of the entire correction chart can be a load on the control unit side, the processing speed can be improved by comparing only a part of the correction chart.

For example, on the right side of Fig. 11, a total of ten test sets of test set A to test set I are displayed. This is a pattern for comparing only a specific part in the entire correction chart. It is obvious that the more the comparison part, the larger the load and the processing time is increased.

12 is a block diagram showing the structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The image forming apparatus 1200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an image forming unit 1210, a scanning unit 1220, a control unit 1230, and a color correction unit 1240.

The image forming unit 1210 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may output information received as an output command as image information. For example, you can print text on A4 paper, or output an image file.

The scanning unit 1220 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs a role of converting a printed matter to be scanned into an image file that can be processed by a computer. The scanning unit 12200 performs a function of converting a hardcopy printed matter into a file format such as jpg or pdf by scanning the printed matter.

The control unit 1230 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can control the information input / output of the other parts 1210, 1220 and 1240 of the image forming apparatus 1200. [ For example, the image forming unit 1210 controls the image forming to be smoothly performed, the scanning unit 1220 controls the image scanning, and the color correcting unit 1240 controls the information necessary for the color correction have.

The controller 1230 according to an embodiment of the present invention compares the reference color chart and the first color chart to determine a difference in color value and applies the color difference value to the image forming apparatus 1200 as a corrected value Gt; ICC < / RTI >

The method by which the controller 1230 determines the ICC profile may exclude ICC profiles whose color difference value is out of a predetermined range and determine an ICC profile that is most similar to the color value of the reference color chart among the filtered ICC profiles .

The color correction unit 1240 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure performs a role of correcting the output color of the image forming apparatus 1200 based on the ICC profile determined by the controller 1230. [ Further, in addition to the ICC profile determined by the controller 1230, it is possible to control the uniform color to be maintained according to a predetermined period or a color correction method internally determined in the image forming apparatus 1200.

13 is a block diagram showing another structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The image forming apparatus 1300 may further include a storage unit 1350 and a communication unit 1360 in addition to the image forming unit 1310, the scanning unit 1320, the control unit 1330, and the color correction unit 1340.

The image forming unit 1310, the scanning unit 1320, the control unit 1330, and the color correcting unit 1340 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to FIG. 12, and therefore will not be described here.

The storage unit 1350 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may store data processed in the image forming apparatus 1300 or outside. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the storage unit 1350 of the image forming apparatus 1300 may store packet data received at the image forming apparatus 1300. [ In addition, the storage unit 1350 may store information determined as a color difference value in the controller 1330, and may store a plurality of ICC profiles. The storage unit 1350 may store information received from a server or the like.

The communication unit 1360 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can perform communication between image forming apparatuses or between an image forming apparatus and a device. In an embodiment of the present invention, the communication unit 1360 of the image forming apparatus 1300 can perform wireless communication such as Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi in addition to wired communication. The communication unit 1360 of the image forming apparatus 1300 may broadcast an advertisement packet and may receive a connection request message from a device or an image forming apparatus that has received the packet. In addition, the communication unit 1360 can perform communication with an external device as an appropriate communication method in a process of connecting a session or a method of performing a service.

14 is a block diagram showing the structure of a multifunction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The image forming apparatus 1400 according to the present invention includes a communication unit 1410, a storage unit 1420, a control unit 1430, a scanner unit 1440, a user interface unit 1450, an image forming unit 1460, 1470 < / RTI >

The communication unit 1410 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a wired communication unit 1411 and a wireless communication unit 1412. The wired communication unit 1411 and the wireless communication unit 1412 can be applied to a network including a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a value added network (VAN) A mobile radio communication network, a satellite communication network, and mutual combinations thereof, and is a data communication network in a comprehensive sense that enables each network constituent to communicate smoothly with each other. The wired Internet, . ≪ / RTI >

A communication unit 1410 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a local communication unit, a mobile communication unit, a broadcast receiving unit, and the like in another aspect. The short-range communication unit includes a Bluetooth communication unit, a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication unit, a NFC / RFID, a WLAN communication unit, a Zigbee communication unit, an IrDA (infrared data association) communication unit, a WFD (Wi- Fi Direct communication unit, an UWB (ultra wideband) communication unit, and an Ant + communication unit, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The storage unit 1420 according to an embodiment of the present invention may store a program for processing and control of the controller 1430 and may store data input / output (e.g., service identification information pre- Company identification information set, etc.). The storage unit 1420 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory) , An optical disc, and the like.

The control unit 1430 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication control unit 1431, an engine unit control unit 1432, an interface unit 1433, a memory unit 1434, an image formation control unit 1435, a timer manager unit 1436 ), And the like.

The communication control unit 1431 according to the embodiment of the present invention can control the communication in the communication unit 1410 to be performed smoothly and the engine unit control unit 1432 can control the operation of the engine unit of the image forming apparatus 1400 Can be controlled. The interface unit 1433 can control connection and data input / output with peripheral devices or modules connected to the inside or the outside of the image forming apparatus 1400, and the memory unit 1434 can control connection / Information about operation and data can be temporarily or semi-permanently stored. The image forming control unit 1435 controls the operation of forming an image in the image forming unit 1460 and the timer manager unit 1436 can manage the time of various operations to be performed by the image forming apparatus 1400. [

The image forming portion 1460 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs an operation of substantially forming an image. For example, the image forming section 1460 can perform an operation of printing input image data on paper.

The paper tray unit 1470 according to an embodiment of the present invention can serve to supply paper to the image forming apparatus 1400.

15 is a block diagram showing another structure of the multifunction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The image forming apparatus 1500 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an engine subsystem 1510, a scanner subsystem 1520, an input subsystem 1530, a UI subsystem 1540, an output subsystem 1550, A tray bottom subsystem 1560, a tray side subsystem 1570, and the like.

The engine subsystem 1510 according to an embodiment of the present invention can perform the above-mentioned operations in the image forming apparatus 1500. [ A wired network module or a wireless network module, and may include a main control unit, a power supply unit, a facsimile unit, and the like.

The engine subsystem 1510 may include a frame, a paper input, an LSU / I / O interface, etc. for charging, exposure, developing, cleaning, erasing and fusing, LPH, an imaging unit, a fuser, a control unit, and a power supply unit.

The scanner subsystem 1520 according to an embodiment of the present invention can support the image forming apparatus 1500 to perform a scanning operation. The input subsystem 1530 or the scan plate can be scanned. The input subsystem 1530 may support input of original images or original paper into the scanner subsystem 1520 for operations such as copying, scanning, faxing, and the like.

The UI subsystem 1540 according to an embodiment of the present invention can display a GUI screen in the image forming apparatus. In addition, it may be constituted by an LCD panel or the like for receiving an operation command from a user, and may be constituted by a touch screen or a hard button. The UI subsystem 1540 can be displayed in the form of a widget and receive user input.

The output subsystem 1550 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may cause a printed matter to be imaged to be output in the image forming apparatus 1500 to be output, and may include a roller or the like. The output subsystem 1550 may be a system for post-processing the printed sheet, such as a standard finisher and a booklet finisher. The tray bottom and side systems can serve to store paper (e.g., A4, A3, and B5) and supply them at the time of image formation.

For example, a series of image forming processes in the image forming apparatus 1500 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, the paper may be stored in the tray bottom and side systems 1560 and 1570, The original image to be copied is input to the input subsystem 1530 and the user's copy job command is input to the UI subsystem (e.g., 10 sheets are output on A4 paper) Images can be scanned. The engine subsystem 1510 manages all operations and can cause the scanned data to be imaged. Thereafter, the user can obtain the image-formed output through the output subsystem.

Some embodiments may also be implemented in the form of a recording medium including instructions executable by a computer, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. In addition, the computer-readable medium can include both computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically includes any information delivery media, including computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanism.

Also, in this specification, the term " part " may be a hardware component such as a processor or a circuit, and / or a software component executed by a hardware component such as a processor.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

11: First image forming apparatus
12: Second image forming apparatus
1200: image forming apparatus
1210:
1220: Scanning section
1230:
1240: Color correction unit

Claims (23)

The first image forming apparatus forming a first color chart;
Scanning the image formed first color chart;
Comparing information of the scanned first color chart and information of a reference color chart to determine an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile of the first image forming apparatus; And
And correcting the color of the first image forming apparatus based on the determined ICC profile. The method according to claim 1,
The reference color chart may include:
Wherein the predetermined color chart is selected by the user of the first image forming apparatus. The method according to claim 1,
The reference color chart may include:
Wherein the second image forming apparatus is an image formed color chart in the second image forming apparatus. The method according to claim 1,
The information of the reference color chart may include,
Wherein the reference color chart is information obtained by scanning in the first image forming apparatus. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the comparison of the scanned first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart comprises:
And comparing the attributes of the first color chart and the attributes of the reference color chart. 6. The method of claim 5,
The attributes of the first color chart and the reference color chart may include:
Wherein the image includes one or more of hue, saturation, and brightness. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the step of comparing the scanned first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart comprises:
Converting the RGB values at a predetermined position of the first color chart and the reference color chart into a different color coordinate system; And
And comparing color information on the transformed color coordinate system. The method according to claim 1,
The first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein determining the ICC profile comprises:
Excluding an ICC profile of a predetermined range out of a plurality of pre-stored ICC profiles; And
Determining an ICC profile having the reference color chart and an attribute within a predetermined range. Identifying a first printer that requires color correction in a smartphone;
Receiving information on a second printer as a reference of color correction;
Transmitting color coordinate system information from the smartphone to the first printer and the second printer;
Receiving first color coordinate system image information output from the first printer and second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer;
Comparing the received first color coordinate system image information and the second color coordinate system image information to determine a color correction value; And
Transmitting the determined color correction value to the first printer;
/ RTI > 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the step of receiving the first color coordinate system image information output from the first printer and the second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer comprises:
And photographing the first color coordinate system image and the second color coordinate system image using an image sensor of the smart phone. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the step of receiving the first color coordinate system image information output from the first printer and the second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer comprises:
And receiving information about the first color coordinate system image and the second color coordinate system image scanned by the scanner. 13. The method of claim 12,
The scanner includes:
Wherein the scanner is physically coupled to either the first printer or the second printer. An image forming unit for forming an image of a first color chart;
A scanning unit that scans the image formed first color chart;
A control unit configured to compare information of the first color chart scanned and information of a reference color chart to determine an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile of the image forming apparatus; And
And a color correction section that corrects the hue of the image forming apparatus based on the ICC profile determined by the control section. 15. The method of claim 14,
The reference color chart may include:
Wherein the predetermined color chart is selected by a user of the image forming apparatus. 15. The method of claim 14,
The reference color chart may include:
Wherein the second image forming apparatus is an image forming color chart in a second image forming apparatus that is separate from the image forming apparatus. 15. The method of claim 14,
The information of the reference color chart may include,
Wherein the reference color chart is information obtained by scanning the reference color chart in the image forming apparatus. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein,
And compares the attributes of the first color chart and the attributes of the reference color chart when comparing the scanned first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein the attributes of the first color chart and the reference color chart include at least one of a hue, saturation, and brightness. 15. The method of claim 14,
When the scanned first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart are compared, the RGB values at the predetermined positions of the first color chart and the reference color chart are changed to different color coordinate systems, And compares the color information on the coordinate system. 15. The method of claim 14,
And a storage unit for first storing the first color chart information and the information of the reference color chart. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein,
Wherein an ICC profile having an attribute within a predetermined range and the reference color chart is determined after excluding an ICC profile out of a predetermined range from a plurality of previously stored ICC profiles. A controller that identifies a first printer that requires color correction in a smartphone and compares the received first color coordinate system image information and the second color coordinate system image information to determine a color correction value;
Transmitting a discovery packet to identify the first printer, receiving information on a second printer as a reference for color correction, transmitting color coordinate system information to the first printer and the second printer, A communication unit receiving the first color coordinate system image information output from the printer and the second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer, and transmitting the determined color correction value to the first printer; And
A first color coordinate system image information output from the first printer and a second color coordinate system image information output from the second printer.

Images