1. A method of reducing the effective volume of a patient’s stomach cavity comprising:
implanting a first magnetic device on an inner surface of the stomach cavity at a first location; and
implanting a second magnetic device on an inner surface of the stomach cavity at a second location, the first and second locations being selected to be across the stomach cavity from one another but to be movable toward one another across the stomach cavity to allow the first and second magnetic devices to contact one another as a result of magnetic attraction between the first and second magnetic devices.
2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the implanting steps are performed from inside the stomach cavity.
3. The method defined in claim 2 wherein the implanting steps are performed trans-orally.
4. The method defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of the implanting steps is reversible by removing at least one of the magnetic devices.
5. The method defined in claim 4 wherein the removing is performed from inside the stomach cavity.
6. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the removing is performed trans-orally.
7. Apparatus for reducing the effective volume of a patient’s stomach cavity comprising:
first and second magnetic implants at respective first and second stomach wall locations that are across the stomach cavity from one another but that are movable toward one another across the stomach cavity to allow the first and second magnetic implants to contact one another as a result of magnetic attraction between the first and second magnetic implants, resulting in an application of force to the stomach wall locations.
8. The apparatus defined in claim 7 wherein the force is directed toward the interior of the stomach cavity.
9. The apparatus defined in claim 7 wherein the force tends to produce deflection of at least one of the stomach wall locations.
10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 wherein the deflection is inwardly of the stomach cavity.
11. The apparatus defined in claim 7 wherein each of the magnetic implants is configured for implanting from inside the stomach cavity.
12. The apparatus defined in claim 11 wherein each of the magnetic implants is configured for implanting via catheter-like instrumentation inserted into the stomach cavity.
13. The apparatus defined in claim 12 wherein the catheter-like instrumentation is trans-oral.
14. The apparatus defined in claim 11 wherein at least one of the magnetic implants is configured for removal via catheter-like instrumentation inserted into the stomach cavity.
15. The apparatus defined in claim 14 wherein the catheter-like instrumentation is trans-oral.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording medium using a black color material and a plurality of chromatic color materials, the image forming apparatus comprising:
a generation unit configured to generate black color material data for arranging a dot of the black color material on the recording medium and a plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data for arranging a dot of the plurality of chromatic color materials on the recording medium, based on input image data; and
a formation unit configured to form an image on the recording medium using the black color material and the plurality of chromatic color materials based on the black color material data and the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data,
wherein the generation unit is configured to generate the black color material data and the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data, for a color positioned at a surface of a dark portion in a color gamut that can be reproduced using the black color material and the plurality of chromatic color materials, in such a way as to arrange dots of the black color material and respective dots of the plurality of chromatic color materials exclusively on the recording medium and set a rate of the arranged dots of the black color material to be greater as the color positioned at the surface is closer to black.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit is configured to generate the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data in such away as to arrange respective dots of the plurality of chromatic color materials in an overlapped manner for the color positioned at the surface.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input image data includes black color material data that corresponds to the black color material and a plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data that correspond to the plurality of chromatic color materials, and
wherein a sum of a value of the black color material data corresponding to the color positioned at the surface and a maximum value of values of the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data corresponding to the color is equal to a maximum value of the input image data.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to form an image on the recording medium using the black color material, the plurality of chromatic color materials, and a gray color material having a lightness value higher than that of the black color material.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit is configured to generate the black color material data in such a way as to arrange the dots of the black color material in a concentrated manner on the recording medium.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a value of the black color material data corresponding to the color positioned at the surface is greater than any one of values of the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data corresponding to the color.
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit does not perform control to generate the black color material data and the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data in such a way as to arrange the dots of the black color material and the dots of the plurality of chromatic color materials exclusively on the recording medium for a color other than the color positioned at the surface, of colors positioned at the dark portion in the color gamut that can be reproduced using the black color material and the plurality of chromatic color materials.
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit stores a threshold group that is usable to determine whether to arrange a dot at a predetermined area of the recording medium according to the input image data, for the color positioned at the surface, and
wherein the threshold group includes a threshold group to be used to arrange the dots of the black color material and a threshold group to be used to arrange respective dots of the plurality of chromatic color materials, which are in a mutually reverse layout order relationship at the predetermined area.
9. An image processing apparatus configured to quantize image data including black color material data that corresponds to a black color material and a plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data that respectively correspond to a plurality of chromatic color materials, the image processing apparatus comprising:
a first quantization unit configured to quantize the black color material data; and
a second quantization unit configured to quantize the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data that respectively correspond to the plurality of chromatic color materials according to information indicating a quantization result of the black color material data.
10. An image processing apparatus configured to quantize image data including black color material data that corresponds to a black color material and a plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data that respectively correspond to a plurality of chromatic color materials, the image processing apparatus comprising:
a first quantization unit configured to quantize the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data; and
a second quantization unit configured to quantize the black color material data that corresponds to the black color material according to information indicating a quantization result of the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data.
11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a random number generation unit configured to generate a pseudo random number,
wherein the second quantization unit performs quantization based on the pseudo random number and a threshold.
12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a rate of an area where dots of the black color material and respective dots of the plurality of chromatic color materials are arranged exclusively on the recording medium, which can be obtained when the second quantization unit performs the quantization based on a result of comparison between the pseudo random number and the threshold, is higher than a rate of an area where the dots of the black color material and respective dots of the plurality of chromatic color materials are arranged exclusively on the recording medium, which can be calculated using Neugebauer equations.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to function as each unit of the image forming apparatus defined in claim 1.
14. An image forming method for forming an image on a recording medium using a black color material and a plurality of chromatic color materials, the image forming method comprising:
generating black color material data for arranging a dot of the black color material on the recording medium and a plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data for arranging a dot of the plurality of chromatic color materials on the recording medium, based on input image data;
forming an image on the recording medium using the black color material and the plurality of chromatic color materials based on the black color material data and the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data; and
generating the black color material data and the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data, for a color positioned at a surface of a dark portion in a color gamut that can be reproduced using the black color material and the plurality of chromatic color materials, in such a way as to arrange dots of the black color material and respective dots of the plurality of chromatic color materials exclusively on the recording medium and set a rate of the arranged dots of the black color material to be greater as the color positioned at the surface is closer to black.
15. An image processing method for quantizing image data including black color material data that corresponds to a black color material and a plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data that respectively correspond to a plurality of chromatic color materials, the image processing method comprising:
quantizing the black color material data; and
quantizing the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data that respectively correspond to the plurality of chromatic color materials according to information indicating a quantization result of the black color material data.
16. An image processing method for quantizing image data including black color material data that corresponds to a black color material and a plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data that respectively correspond to a plurality of chromatic color materials, the image processing method comprising:
quantizing the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data; and
quantizing the black color material data that corresponds to the black color material according to information indicating a quantization result of the plurality of pieces of chromatic color material data.