Image processing apparatus and image processing method

• US 20050031217A1
• Filed: 09/20/2004
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Takano, Gaku, Fuchigami, Takahiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,545,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/38 Circuits or arrangements for blanking or otherwise eliminating unwanted parts of pictures H04N1/387 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/503 involving temporal prediction adaptive coding with adaptive selection between spatial and temporal predictive coding H04N19/107; adaptive coding with adaptive selection among a plurality of temporal predictive coding modes H04N19/109

Abstract

When a plurality of image data are to be compressed, an image correlation information extraction unit extracts respective image correlation information of image data, using first image data as reference image data. An encoding unit compresses the extracted image correlation information to produce encoded data. A data output unit outputs the compressed data and the reference image data to a page memory. When the compressed data are to be restored, a data input unit supplies the image correlation data input from the page memory to an image correlation information decoding unit, and supplies the reference image data to an image restoring unit. The image correlation information decoding unit decodes the image correlation data into the respective image correlation information and supplies the image correlation information to the image restoring unit. The image restoring unit restores the plural image data from the respective image correlation information and the reference image data.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

extraction means for setting, when a plurality of still image data of successive original images of the same format have been input, one of the plural still image data as reference image data, and extracting respective image correlation information of the plural still image data including the reference image data;

encoding means for encoding the image correlation information extracted by the extraction means into encoded data; and

output means for outputting the encoded data encoded by the encoding means and the reference image data.

2. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plural still image data are a plurality of digital still image data.

3. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said extraction means extracts, from the input plural still image data, image correlation information among the plural still image data including the reference image data by using an exclusive OR.

4. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said extraction means extracts the image correlation information by calculating an exclusive OR of pixel values of pixel positions associated with preceding image and subsequent image data in the order of the plural still image data including the reference image data.

5. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said encoding means compresses the plural image correlation information by run-length encoding.

6. An image processing apparatus comprising:

input means for inputting encoded data formed by-encoding respective image correlation information between reference image data and a plurality of still image data;

decoding means for decoding the respective image correlation information from the encoded data input by the input means; and

image restoring means for restoring the plural still image data from the image correlation information decoded by the decoding means and the reference image data input by the input means.

7. An image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said decoding means decodes the respective image correlation information from the encoded data by a run-length code decoding method.

8. An image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said image restoring means restores the plural still image data from the respective image correlation information and the reference image data by a logical operation.

9. An image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said image restoring means restores next image data by a logical operation of image correlation information relating to the reference image data and the next image data in the respective image correlation information and the reference image data, restores image data after next by a logical operation of image correlation information relating to the restored next image data and the image data after next and the next image data, and also restores subsequent image data by a logical operation of image correlation information relating to preceding image data and the subsequent image data in the order of image data and the restored preceding image data, thereby restoring the plural still image data.

10. An image processing apparatus comprising:

extraction means for setting, when a plurality of still image data of successive original images of the same format have been input, one of the plural still image data as reference image data, and extracting respective image correlation information of the plural still image data including the reference image data;

first encoding means for encoding the respective image correlation information extracted by the extraction means into first encoded data;

second encoding means for encoding the reference image data into second encoded data; and

output means for outputting the second encoded data encoded by the second encoding means and the first encoded data encoded by the first encoding means.

11. An image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said first encoding means checks a run of zero values in the respective image correlation information and produces entropy codes.

12. An image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said first encoding means and said second encoding means are encoding means of the same structure.

13. An image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said first encoding means and said second encoding means are run-length encoding means.

14. An image processing apparatus comprising:

input means for inputting first encoded data formed by encoding reference image data, and second encoded data formed by encoding respective image correlation information among a plurality of still image data;

first decoding means for decoding the reference image data from the first encoded data input by the input means;

second decoding means for decoding the respective image correlation information from the second encoded data input by the input means; and

image restoring means for restoring the plural still image data from the respective image correlation information decoded by the second decoding means and the reference image data decoded by the first decoding means.

15. An image processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said first decoding means and said second decoding means are decoding means of the same structure.

16. An image processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said first decoding means and said second decoding means are decoding means for performing decoding on the basis of a run-length decoding method.

17. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

setting, when a plurality of still image data of successive original images of the same format have been input, one of the plural still image data as reference image data, and extracting respective image correlation information of the plural still image data including the reference image data;

encoding the extracted image correlation information into encoded data; and

outputting the encoded data and the reference image data.

18. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

inputting encoded data formed by encoding respective image correlation information between reference image data and a plurality of still image data;

decoding the respective image correlation information from the input encoded data; and

restoring the plural still image data from the decoded image correlation information and the reference image data.