IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20080226197A1
• Filed: 03/07/2008
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Saga, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,203,649 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/300
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0132 the field or frame frequency of the incoming video signal being multiplied by a positive integer, e.g. for flicker reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0135 involving interpolation processes interpolation-based image scaling G06T3/4007; interpolation for video coding H04N19/587, H04N19/59

Abstract

An apparatus includes a memory which successively stores frame data of video data, an interpolating unit which generates interpolation frame data which is inserted between the frame data and stores the interpolation frame data in the memory, and a readout unit which successively reads out the frame data and the interpolation frame data from the memory at a frame rate higher than a frame rate of the video data. The apparatus further includes a generating unit which generates image data which is composited with the frame data and stores the image data in the memory, and a control unit which, based on display-related characteristics of the image data, controls the interpolating unit to halt the generation of the interpolation frame data, and also controls the readout unit to read out the frame data in duplicate instead of the interpolation frame data.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a memory which successively stores frame data of video data;

an interpolating unit which generates interpolation frame data which is inserted between the frame data and stores the interpolation frame data in the memory;

a readout unit which successively reads out the frame data and the interpolation frame data from the memory at a frame rate higher than a frame rate of the video data;

a generating unit which generates image data which is composited with the frame data and stores the image data in the memory; and

a control unit which, based on display-related characteristics of the image data, controls the interpolating unit to halt the generation of the interpolation frame data, and also controls the readout unit to read out the frame data in duplicate instead of the interpolation frame data.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the interpolating unit to carry out the generation of the interpolation frame data if a pixel count of the image data is not more than a predetermined threshold value.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, along with controlling the interpolating unit to carry out the generation of the interpolation frame data for an area other than an area in the frame data where the image data is composited, controls the readout unit to read out the frame data in duplicate instead of the interpolation frame data for the area in the frame data where the image data is composited.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, along with controlling the interpolating unit to carry out the generation of the interpolation frame data for an area other than an area in the frame data where the image data is composited and for an area where a degree of transparency of the composited image data is not less than a predetermined degree, controls the readout unit to read out the frame data in duplicate instead of the interpolation frame data for the area where the degree of transparency of the composited image data is less than the predetermined degree.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the interpolating unit to carry out the generation of the interpolation frame data if a volume of data that the generating unit transmits to, and receives from, the memory is not more than a predetermined threshold value.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the interpolating unit to generate the interpolation frame data based on a different algorithm requiring a smaller volume of data transmissions to/from the memory instead of halting the generation of the interpolation frame data.

7. An apparatus comprising:

a storage unit which successively stores frame data of video data in a memory;

a first converting unit which converts the frame data in a first format to a second format utilizing a smaller data volume than the first format;

an interpolating unit which generates interpolation frame data which is inserted between the frame data in the first format or the second format and stores the interpolation frame data in the memory;

a second converting unit which converts the interpolation frame data and the frame data in the second format to the first format;

a readout unit which successively reads out the frame data and interpolation frame data from the memory at a frame rate higher than a frame rate of the video data;

a generating unit which generates image data which is composited with the frame data and stores the image data in the memory; and

a control unit which, in response to output of display-related characteristics of the image data, controls the storage unit to store the frame data after conversion to the second format with the first converting unit, controls the interpolating unit to generate interpolation frame data in the second format, and, furthermore, controls the second converting unit to convert the interpolation frame data and the frame data in the second format to the first format prior to readout by the readout unit.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein no control is exercised by the control unit if a pixel count of the image data is not more than a predetermined threshold value.

9. A method comprising:

successively storing frame data of video data in a memory;

generating interpolation frame data which is inserted between the frame data and storing the interpolation frame data in the memory;

successively reading out the frame data and the interpolation frame data from the memory at a frame rate higher than a frame rate of the video data;

generating image data which is composited with the frame data and storing the image data in the memory; and

,

based on display-related characteristics of the image data, determining whether to halt the generation of the interpolation frame data, and also determining whether to read out the frame data in duplicate instead of the interpolation frame data.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein interpolation frame data is not generated if a pixel count of the image data is more than a threshold value.