Digital image photographing apparatus and method

• US 20060159340A1
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Eun Sil
• Application Number:
  US11/305,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20060159340A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/169
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4074 using histograms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders

Abstract

A digital image photographing apparatus includes: a histogram calculating part for calculating a histogram of an inputted original image; a histogram value setting part for selecting an upper range in a first ratio in the histogram to set a lowest limit value as a maximum brightness value of the original image, and selecting a lower range in a second ratio to set a highest limit value as a minimum brightness value of the original image; a parameter setting part for setting a minimum brightness value of a processed image to a value less than the minimum brightness value of the original image, and setting a maximum brightness value of the processed image to a value greater than the maximum brightness value of the original image; and a histogram stretching part for stretching the histogram of the original image with reference to the maximum and minimum values of the processed image.

Claims

1. A digital image photographing apparatus comprising:

a histogram calculating part for calculating a histogram of an inputted original image;

a histogram value setting part for selecting an upper range in a first ratio in the histogram to set a lowest limit value as a maximum brightness value of the original image, and selecting a lower range in a second ratio to set a highest limit value as a minimum brightness value of the original image;

a parameter setting part for setting a minimum brightness value of a processed image to a value less than the minimum brightness value of the original image, and setting a maximum brightness value of the processed image to a value greater than the maximum brightness value of the original image; and

a histogram stretching part for stretching the histogram of the original image with reference to the maximum and minimum values of the processed image.

2. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parameter setting part determines the maximum and minimum brightness values according to difference between the maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image.

3. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a color correcting part for correcting a color component of the image according to the brightness stretched by the histogram stretching part.

4. A digital image photographing apparatus comprising:

a histogram calculating part for calculating a histogram of an inputted original image;

a histogram value setting part for setting maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image in the histogram;

a first parameter setting part for setting a first minimum brightness value of a processed image to a value less than the minimum brightness value of the original image, and setting a first maximum brightness value of the processed image to a value greater than the maximum brightness value of the original image;

a second parameter setting part for setting second maximum and minimum brightness values according to difference between the maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image; and

a histogram stretching part for stretching the histogram of the original image with reference to the second maximum and minimum brightness values of the processed image.

5. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the histogram value setting part selects an upper range in a first ratio to set a lowest limit value as the maximum brightness value of the original image, and selects a lower range in a second ratio to set a highest limit value as the minimum brightness value of the original image.

6. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second parameter setting part resets the first maximum and minimum brightness values when a difference between the maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image is less than a critical value, and maintains the first maximum and minimum brightness values to the second maximum and minimum brightness values when the difference between the maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image is greater than the critical value.

7. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second maximum brightness value is calculated by

Ratio×

(the first maximum brightness value)+(1−

Ratio)×

(the maximum brightness value of the original image),

where, Ratio=|(maximum brightness value of original image)−

(minimum brightness value of original image)|÷

(critical value of region difference).

8. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second minimum brightness value is calculated by

Ratio×

(the first minimum brightness value)+(1−

Ratio)×

(the minimum brightness value of the original image).

where, Ratio=|(maximum brightness value of original image)−

(minimum brightness value of original image)|÷

(critical value of region difference)

9. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a color correcting part for correcting a color component of the image according to the brightness stretched by the histogram stretching part.

10. A digital image photographing apparatus comprising:

a histogram calculating part for calculating a histogram of an inputted original image;

a histogram value setting part for setting maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image in the histogram;

a first parameter setting part for setting a first minimum brightness value of a processed image to a value less than the minimum brightness value of the original image, and setting a first maximum brightness value of the processed image to a value greater than the maximum brightness value of the original image;

a second parameter setting part for setting second maximum and minimum brightness values according to a difference between the maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image;

a third parameter setting part for setting third maximum and minimum brightness values according to a brightness of the second maximum and minimum brightness values; and

a histogram stretching part for stretching the histogram of the original image with reference to the third maximum and minimum brightness values of the processed image.

11. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the third maximum brightness value is calculated by

(the second maximum brightness value)+(positive proportional value)×

(brightness critical value−

brightness value of the original image).

12. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the third minimum brightness value is calculated by

(the second minimum brightness value)+(positive proportional value)×

(brightness critical value−

brightness value of the original image).

13. The digital image photographing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a color correcting part for correcting a color component of the image according to the brightness stretched by the histogram stretching part.

14. A digital image photographing method comprising:

calculating a histogram of an inputted original image;

setting maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image;

setting a first minimum brightness value of a processed image to a value less than the minimum brightness value of the original image, and setting a first maximum brightness value of the processed image to a value greater than the maximum brightness value of the original image;

setting second maximum and minimum brightness values according to a difference between the maximum and minimum brightness values of the original image;

setting third maximum and minimum brightness values according to a brightness of the second maximum and minimum brightness values; and

stretching the histogram of the original image with reference to the third maximum and minimum brightness values of the processed image.

15. The digital image photographing method according to claim 14, further comprising correcting a color component of the image according to the brightness stretched by the histogram stretching part.

16. The digital image photographing method according to claim 14, wherein the second maximum brightness value is calculated by

Ratio×

(the first maximum brightness value)+(1−

Ratio)×

(the maximum brightness value of the original image),

where, Ratio=|(maximum brightness value of original image)−

(minimum brightness value of original image)|÷

(critical value of region difference).

17. The digital image photographing method according to claim 14, wherein the second minimum brightness value is calculated by

Ratio×

(the first minimum brightness value)+(1−

Ratio)×

(the minimum brightness value of the original image)

where, Ratio=|(maximum brightness value of original image)−

(minimum brightness value of original image)|÷

(critical value of region difference).

18. The digital image photographing method according to claim 14, wherein the third maximum brightness value is calculated by

(the second maximum brightness value)+(positive proportional value)×

(brightness critical value−

brightness value of the original image).

19. The digital image photographing method according to claim 14, wherein the third minimum brightness value is calculated by

(the second minimum brightness value)+(positive proportional value)×

(brightness critical value−

brightness value of the original image).