Image information retrieval/display apparatus
First Claim
1. An image information retrieval/display apparatus, comprising:
- coded image information storage means for storing coded image information arranged in a hierarchical structure having different levels of coded information corresponding to different resolutions of the image, the coded image information at levels excluding a highest level among the different levels in the hierarchical structure being coded difference information obtained such that a difference between the coded image information of a given level and the coded image information of a level adjacent to the given level is coded;
decoding means for decoding the coded image information of a predetermined level which is read out from said coded image information storage means and generating display image information;
displaying means for displaying the display image information decoded by said decoding means;
designating means for designating a desired partial area within an image of the predetermined level which is displayed on said displaying means; and
readout means for reading out from said coded image information storage means at least part of the coded image information which corresponds to the partial area designated by said designating means and which belongs to a level which is at least one lower than the predetermined level,said decoding means comprisingextracting means for extracting a decoded image information portion from the display image information displayed on said displaying means, the image portion corresponding to the partial area designated by said designating means, andcombining means for combining the information extracted by said extracting means and the difference information of at least one lower level which is read out from said readout means to produce new display image information of the designated partial area,whereby the hierarchically coded image information is repeatedly retrieved and displayed from the high level to the low level in a manner in which a local image can be reproduced at high speed.
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Abstract
According to an image information retrieval/display apparatus, an original image is represented by a hierarchical structure from a global image of high level to a local image of low level in accordance with resolutions thereof. Only difference information between the images of the respective levels is coded and stored, so that the number of codes will not be increased. When an operator directly designates any partial area within the displayed global image, local images are sequentially retrieved. By adding and combining the difference information of the retrieved local image in the designated area within the global image, the desired local image can be displayed at high speed.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. An image information retrieval/display apparatus, comprising:
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coded image information storage means for storing coded image information arranged in a hierarchical structure having different levels of coded information corresponding to different resolutions of the image, the coded image information at levels excluding a highest level among the different levels in the hierarchical structure being coded difference information obtained such that a difference between the coded image information of a given level and the coded image information of a level adjacent to the given level is coded; decoding means for decoding the coded image information of a predetermined level which is read out from said coded image information storage means and generating display image information; displaying means for displaying the display image information decoded by said decoding means; designating means for designating a desired partial area within an image of the predetermined level which is displayed on said displaying means; and readout means for reading out from said coded image information storage means at least part of the coded image information which corresponds to the partial area designated by said designating means and which belongs to a level which is at least one lower than the predetermined level, said decoding means comprising extracting means for extracting a decoded image information portion from the display image information displayed on said displaying means, the image portion corresponding to the partial area designated by said designating means, and combining means for combining the information extracted by said extracting means and the difference information of at least one lower level which is read out from said readout means to produce new display image information of the designated partial area, whereby the hierarchically coded image information is repeatedly retrieved and displayed from the high level to the low level in a manner in which a local image can be reproduced at high speed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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9. A method of coding image information to be stored in a coded image information storage means in an image information retrieval/display apparatus, comprising the steps of:
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dividing original image information, having pixels arranged in a matrix, into blocks each having pixels in a smaller matrix than that of the original image information, processing and coding luminance signals of the pixels belonging to the respective blocks to obtain gray level components, coding gray level distribution of the blocks to obtain resolution components; calculating average values of the gray level and resolution components in units of a plurality of said blocks, and processing one block of said blocks having the average values to produce high-level gray level and resolution components; calculating differences between the gray level components of every two adjacent levels and between the resolution components of every two adjacent levels to produce difference gray level and resolution components, respectively; and supplying the gray level and resolution components for a highest level and the difference gray level and resolution components for the levels excluding the highest level to said coded image information storage means.
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14. A decoder according to claim I0, wherein the image information comprises color information which is divided into sets of pixels in units of luminance, quadrature and in-phase components, and said temporary storage means, said extracting means and said generating means are arranged to decode each of the components, and said decoder further comprises component combining means for combining the components into a color image signal.
Specification