Method and apparatus for re-construcing high-resolution images

• US 20040175055A1
• Filed: 03/07/2003
• Published: 09/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Miller, Casey L., Owens, James W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,382,937 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/284
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting

Abstract

A method for constructing a high-resolution image includes constructing a second plurality of time-sequential frames having a second resolution from a first plurality of time-sequential frames having a first resolution, the second resolution being lower than the first resolution, and constructing an image from the second plurality of time sequential frames, the image having a resolution that is higher than the second resolution.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

constructing a second plurality of time-sequential frames having a second resolution from a first plurality of time-sequential frames having a first resolution, the second resolution being lower than the first resolution; and

constructing an image from the second plurality of time sequential frames, the image having a resolution that is higher than the second resolution.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented by one of a computer or a digital camera.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the resolution of the image is equal to the first resolution.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a total number of pixels in each of the second plurality of time-sequential frames is equal to one fourth of a total number of pixels in a corresponding frame from the first plurality of time-sequential frames.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting the image to a device that is configured to render the image.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the device is one of a monitor or a printer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first resolution is equal to four times the second resolution.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein using the second plurality of time sequential frames to construct the image comprises interlacing pixels from each frame of the second plurality of time-sequential frames with pixels from each other frame of the second plurality of time-sequential frames.

9. - A system comprising:

memory for storing a first plurality of pixel values corresponding to a plurality of respective time-sequential frames; and

a processor that is programmed to use the first plurality of pixel values to generate a second plurality of pixel values corresponding to an image having a greater resolution than any of the plurality of time-sequential frames.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the system comprises one of a computer or a digital camera.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the resolution of the image is equal to four times the resolution of one of the plurality of time-sequential frames.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the image is generated by interlacing pixels from each frame of the plurality of time-sequential frames with pixels from each other frame of the plurality of time-sequential frames.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein a total number of pixels in each of the plurality of time-sequential frames is equal to one fourth of a total number of pixels in the image.

14. A method comprising:

obtaining a plurality of time-sequenced frames of higher-resolution image data, each of the plurality of frames being defined by a plurality of pixel values, such that each of the plurality of pixel values corresponds to a location in a matrix;

generating a frame of lower-resolution image data for each of the plurality of time-sequenced frames of higher-resolution image data, such that pixel values corresponding collectively to substantially all locations in the matrix are used in the plurality of lower-resolution frames of image data; and

constructing at least one higher-resolution image from the plurality of lower-resolution frames of image data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating a frame of lower-resolution image data for each of the plurality of time-sequenced frames of higher-resolution image data comprises using a pixel value corresponding to each location in the matrix exactly once.

16. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein generating a frame of lower-resolution image data for each of the plurality of time-sequenced frames of higher-resolution image data comprises using one pixel value for every four pixel values of each frame of the higher-resolution image data.

17. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein generating a frame of lower-resolution image data for each of the plurality of time-sequenced frames of higher-resolution image data comprises using one pixel value for every nine pixel values of each frame of the higher-resolution image data.

18. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon an executable instruction set configured to direct a processor to perform a method comprising:

constructing a second plurality of time-sequential frames having a second resolution from a first plurality of time-sequential frames having a first resolution, the second resolution being lower than the first resolution; and

constructing an image from the second plurality of time sequential frames, the image having a resolution that is higher than the second resolution.

19. A system comprising:

means for constructing a second plurality of time-sequential frames having a second resolution from a first plurality of time-sequential frames having a first resolution, the second resolution being lower than the first resolution; and

means for constructing an image from the second plurality of time sequential frames, the image having a resolution that is higher than the second resolution.