Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program

• US 20050105821A1
• Filed: 05/27/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kitagawara, Atsushi, Hibi, Yoshiharu, Okutsu, Masaru
• Granted Patent: US 7,653,246 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/274
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/66 of image moments or centre of gravity
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes a feature amount recognition unit that recognizes a feature amount of each of plural pieces of image data, and a processing reference extraction unit that extracts a processing reference for image correction to be made to the plural pieces of image data from the feature amount recognized by the feature amount recognition unit.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a feature amount recognition unit that recognizes a feature amount of each of a plurality of pieces of image data; and

a processing reference extraction unit that extracts a processing reference for image correction to be made to the plurality of pieces of image data from the feature amount recognized by the feature amount recognition unit.

2. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

an image correction unit that makes image correction to each of the plurality of pieces of image data using the processing reference extracted by the processing reference extraction unit.

3. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the plurality of pieces of image data are stored in one or more memory devices, and

wherein the feature amount recognition unit reads the plurality of pieces of image data from the one or more memory devices and recognizes the feature amount of each of the plurality of pieces of image data.

4. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the feature amount recognition unit recognizes a main object of each of the plurality of pieces of image data and recognizes the feature amount based on the recognized object.

5. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the feature amount recognition unit recognizes a geometrical feature amount of each of the plurality of pieces of image data.

6. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the feature amount recognition unit recognizes a geometrical feature amount containing at least any one of position, size, and inclination of each of the plurality of pieces of image data.

7. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the feature amount recognition unit recognizes an image quality containing at least any one of lightness, contrast, saturation, hue, and sharpness of each of the plurality of pieces of image data as the feature amount.

8. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an input unit that inputs a plurality of digital images;

a feature amount recognition unit that recognizes a geometrical feature amount of a main subject from each of the plurality of digital images input through the input unit; and

a geometrical correction unit that makes a correction to the main subject of each of the plurality of digital images so that the images are geometrically unified from the geometrical feature amount recognized by the feature amount recognition unit.

9. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein the feature amount recognition unit extracts contours of the main subject, extracts a rectangle circumscribing the main subject from the extracted contours, and recognizes the geometrical feature amount from the extracted rectangle circumscribing the main subject.

10. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein the geometrical correction unit calculates a geometrical target value from the geometrical feature amount recognized by the feature amount recognition unit and makes a geometrical correction to the main subject of each of the plurality of digital images using the calculated target value.

11. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein the feature amount recognition unit recognizes a geometrical feature amount containing at least any one of position, size, and inclination of each of the plurality of pieces of image data.

12. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein the geometrical correction unit unifies at least one of the positions of the main subjects and the sizes of the main subjects.

13. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an input unit that inputs a plurality of digital images;

a feature amount recognition unit that recognizes a feature amount concerning an image quality of a main subject from each of the plurality of digital images input through the input unit; and

an image quality correction unit that makes a correction to the main subject of each of the plurality of digital images so that the image quality is unified from the feature amount concerning the image quality recognized by the feature amount recognition unit.

14. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 13,

wherein the feature amount concerning the image quality recognized by the feature amount recognition unit is at least any one of a feature amount concerning luminance of the main subject, a feature amount concerning saturation, a feature amount concerning color distribution, a feature amount concerning lightness, and a feature amount concerning sharpness.

15. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 13,

wherein the feature amount recognition unit further comprises a target value setting unit that sets a target value according to a statistical technique as for the image quality of the main subjects of the plurality of digital images, and

wherein the image quality correction unit makes a correction using the target value set by the target value setting unit.

16. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a feature amount recognition unit that extracts a background area from each of a plurality of digital images and recognizes a feature amount concerning each background; and

a background correction unit that makes a correction to each image so that backgrounds are unified from the feature amount concerning the background recognized by the feature amount recognition unit.

17. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16 further comprising:

a target value setting unit that sets a target value according to a statistical technique as for the background areas of the plurality of digital images recognized by the feature amount recognition unit,

wherein the background correction unit makes a correction using the target value set by the target value setting unit.

18. An image processing method comprising:

inputting a plurality of pieces of image data;

recognizing a feature amount of a main subject of each of the plurality of pieces of image data input;

setting a processing reference for image correction to be made to each of the main subjects from the recognized feature amount;

making a correction to the main subject using the set processing reference; and

outputting image data with the main subject to which the correction has been made.

19. The image processing method as claimed in claim 18,

wherein the recognized feature amount is at least one of a geometrical feature amount of the main subject and a feature amount of the image quality.

20. An image processing method comprising:

inputting a plurality of pieces of image data;

recognizing a background area in each of the plurality of pieces of image data input;

making a correction to the plurality of pieces of image data so that the recognized background areas are unified; and

outputting the plurality of pieces of image data to which the correction has been made.

21. A storage medium readable by a computer, the storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform a function for processing an image, the function comprising the steps of:

recognizing a main subject in each of a plurality of pieces of image data input;

recognizing a feature amount of each of the recognized main subjects;

setting a processing reference for image correction to be made to each of the main subjects from the recognized feature amount; and

making a correction to the main subject using the set processing reference.

22. A storage medium readable by a computer, the storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform a function for processing an image, the function comprising the steps of:

recognizing a background area in each of a plurality of pieces of image data input; and

making a correction to the plurality of pieces of image data so that the recognized background areas are unified.