Picture processing apparatus

• US 5,101,440 A
• Filed: 09/08/1989
• Issued: 03/31/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hiroi, Toshiyuki, Watanabe, Toshiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Razavi, Michael
• Application Number:
  US07/404,699
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 382/22, 340/703, 340/744, 340/747, 358/81, 358/82, 364/518, 364/521
• US Class Current: 382/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/203 Drawing of straight lines or curves
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20084 Artificial neural networks [ANN]

Abstract

A picture processing apparatus in which edges of an input picture are detected by an edge detecting circuit to form edge detection data, which then are transformed so that a histogram of the edge detection data becomes substantially flat, and in which a so-called line picture is displayed on the basis of the transformed edge detection data.

Claims

1. A picture processing apparatus for transforming an input picture into a line picture, the apparatus comprising:

a) edge detection means receiving input picture data representing said input picture and detecting edges of an image included in said input picture and edge detection data corresponding thereto,

b) converting means receiving said edge detection data from said edge detection means, said edge detection data representing said edges of the image, said converting means separately converting sad edge detection data by a transformation calculated from an entire histogram, derived from the whole image, of the frequency of said edge detection data versus the intensity of said edge detection data at the output thereof, said transformation causing as flatter intensity distribution of said edge detection data than at the input thereof, and

c) means for displaying a line picture on the basis of converted edge detection data from said converting means wherein said detected edges are displayed with nearly equal visual intensity corresponding to the flatter histogram.

4. The picture processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for storing said converted edge detection data from said converting means.

7. A picture processing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said transformation is derived using mathematical integration.

8. A picture processing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said transformation is a predetermined mathematical function.

2. A picture processing apparatus for transforming an input picture into a line picture, the apparatus comprising:

a) edge detection means receiving input picture data representing said input picture and detecting edges of an image included in said input picture and producing edge detection data corresponding thereto,

b) converting means receiving said edge detection data from said edge detection means, said edge detection data representing said edges of the image, said converting means separately converting said edge detection data by a transformation calculated from an entire histogram, derived from the whole image, of the frequency of said edge detection data versus the intensity of said edge detection data at the output thereof, said transformation causing a flatter intensity distribution of said edge detection data than at the input thereof, and

c) mixing means for adding color data signals corresponding to original colors of the image included in said input picture to said edge detection data from said converting means, and

d) means for displaying a line picture on the basis of converted edge detection data and color data signals from said mixing means wherein said detected edges are displayed with nearly equal visual intensity corresponding to the flatter histogram.

5. The picture processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for storing said converted edge detection data and color data signals from said mixing means.

3. A picture processing apparatus for transforming an input picture into a line picture, the apparatus comprising:

a) edge detection means receiving input picture data representing said input picture and detecting the edges of an image included in said input picture and producing edge detection data corresponding thereto,

b) first converting means receiving the edge detection data from said edge detection means, said edge detection data representing said edges of the image said first converting means separately converting said edge detection data by a transformation calculated from an entire histogram, derived from the whole image, of the frequency of said edge detection data versus the intensity of said edge detection data at the output thereof, said transformation causing a flatter intensity distribution of said edge detection data than at the input thereof,

c) mixing means for adding color data signals corresponding to original colors of the image included in said input picture to said edge detection data from said first converting means and producing summed color data output signals therefrom,

d) second converting means receiving output signals from said mixing means for converting said summed color data signals by a transformation calculated from a histogram, derived from the whole image, of the frequency of said summed color data versus the intensity of said summed color data signals, said transformation causing a flatter intensity distribution of said summed color data signals than at the input thereof, and

e) means for displaying a color averaged line picture on the basis of converted summed color added signals from said second converting means wherein said detected edges are displayed with nearly equal visual intensity corresponding to the flatter histogram.

6. The picture processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for storing said converted, summed color data signals from said second converting means.