Image processing apparatus and method, and system thereof

• US 5,517,246 A
• Filed: 06/25/1993
• Issued: 05/14/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Shigeo
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Tommy P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Au, A.
• Application Number:
  US08/081,148
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 348/399, 348/390, 348/384, 348/699, 348/426, 348/401, 348/409, 348/412
• US Class Current: 348/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/10 using adaptive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/132 Sampling, masking or truncation of coding units, e.g. adaptive resampling, frame skipping, frame interpolation or high-frequency transform coefficient masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/503 involving temporal prediction adaptive coding with adaptive selection between spatial and temporal predictive coding H04N19/107; adaptive coding with adaptive selection among a plurality of temporal predictive coding modes H04N19/109
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/507 using conditional replenishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/587 involving temporal sub-sampling or interpolation, e.g. decimation or subsequent interpolation of pictures in a video sequence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9264 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/54 the signals being synchronous H04N21/23602, H04N21/23614, H04N21/2365, H04N21/2368, H04N21/4341, H04N21/4342, H04N21/4347, H04N21/4348 take precedence

Abstract

An image processing system determines a characteristic of a moving picture, when moving-picture information is compressed, by comparing the contents of contiguous frames comprising the moving picture. The characteristic can be such that the background is not moving, but a part of the picture is moving. A compression method is selected in accordance with the characteristic and used to compress the image data. The compressed data includes the image data and information for designating the procedure to decompress the image data. When the receiver receives the compressed image data, data expansion processing is performed based on the information indicating the compression procedure. Since the image processing system compresses the image by the compression procedure best suited to the characteristic of the image, information is not lost and efficient compression can be performed.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

input means for inputting moving-picture information including a plurality of frames;

processing means for obtaining a difference between successive frames on each pixel of the moving-picture information;

summation means for obtaining the sum of the difference between the successive frames on each pixel;

thinning means for thinning out frames of the input moving-picture information;

determination means for determining whether the sum of the difference obtained by said summation means is less than a threshold;

output means for outputting compressed information for the input moving-picture information; and

control means for controlling said output means so as to output moving-picture information thinned out by said thinning means as the compressed information where the sum of the difference is determined to be less than the threshold by said determination means and so as to output the difference obtained by said processing means as the compressed information where the sum of the difference is determined not to be less than the threshold by said determination means,

wherein said processing means and said thinning means process the same moving-picture information simultaneously, and said control means controls said output means to select one of the results of processing by said processing means and said thinning means as the output.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output means outputs the compressed moving-picture information and information indicative of a decompression procedure to decompress the compressed moving-picture information.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output means outputs the information to a transmission path.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output means writes the information into a recording medium.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus executes determination by said determination means periodically during the input of a moving-picture information from said input means, and dynamically executes selection by said output means corresponding to the result of determination of said determination means.

6. An image processing method comprising:

input step for inputting moving-picture information including a plurality of frames;

processing step for obtaining a difference between successive frames on each pixel of the moving-picture information;

summation step for obtaining the sum of the difference between the successive frames on each pixel;

thinning step for thinning out frames of the input moving-picture information;

determination step for determining whether the sum of the difference obtained by said summation step is less than a threshold;

output step for outputting compressed information for the input moving-picture information; and

control step for controlling said output step so as to output moving-picture information thinned out by said thinning step as the compressed information where the sum of the difference is determined to be less than the threshold by said determination step and so as to output the difference obtained by said processing step as the compressed information where the sum of the difference is determined not to be less than the threshold by said determination step,

wherein said processing step and said thinning step process the same moving-picture information simultaneously, and said control step controls said output step to select one of the results of processing by said processing step and said thinning step as the output.

7. The image processing method according to claim 6, wherein the method executes determination at said determination step periodically during the input of a moving-picture information from said input step, and dynamically executes selection at said output step corresponding to the result of determination at said determination step.

8. An image processing apparatus comprising:

input means for inputting moving-picture information including a plurality of frames;

processing means for obtaining a difference between successive frames on each pixel of the moving-picture information;

summation means for obtaining the sum of the difference between the successive frames on each pixel;

checking means for checking the number of pixels on which the difference between the successive frames is not zero;

thinning means for thinning out frames of the moving-picture information;

first determination means for determining whether the sum of the difference obtained by said summation means is less than a first threshold;

second determination means for determining whether the number checked by said checking means is less than a second threshold;

output means for outputting compressed information for the input moving-picture information; and

controlling means for controlling said output means so as to output moving-picture information thinned out by said thinning means as the compressed information where the sum of the difference is determined to be less than the first threshold by said first determination means and so as to output the difference obtained by said processing means as the compressed information where the sum of the difference is determined not to be less than the first threshold by said first determination means and the number is determined to be less than the second threshold by said second determination means,

wherein said processing means and said thinning means process the same moving picture information simultaneously, and said control means for controlling said output means to select one of the result of processing by said processing means and said thinning means as the output.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said output means outputs the compressed moving-picture information and information indicative of an decompression procedure to decompress the compressed moving-picture information.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said output means outputs the information to a transmission path.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said output means writes the information into a recording medium.

12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the apparatus executes determination by said determination means periodically during the input of a moving-picture information from said input means, and dynamically executes selection by said output means corresponding to the result of determination of said determination means.

13. An image processing system comprising:

a transmission-side image processing apparatus including;

first input means for inputting moving-picture information including a plurality of frames;

processing means for obtaining a difference between successive frames on each pixel of the moving-picture information;

summation means for obtaining the sum of the difference between the successive frames on each pixel;

thinning means for thinning out frames of the moving-picture information;

determination means for determining whether the sum of the difference obtained by said summation means is less than a threshold;

first output means for outputting the compressed moving-picture information and information indicative of a decompression procedure to decompress the compressed moving-picture information; and

control means for controlling said first output means so as to output moving-picture information thinned out by said thinning means as the compressed information where the sum of the difference is determined to be less than the threshold and so as to output the difference obtained by said processing means as the compressed information where the sum of the difference is determined not to be less than the threshold by said determination means; and

a reception-side image processing apparatus including;

second input means for inputting the information which is output from said first output means;

decompression means for decompressing moving-picture information based on the information indicative of the procedure input by said second input means and reproducing the moving-picture information before the compression; and

second output means for outputting the moving-picture information decompressed by said decompression means,

wherein said processing means and said thinning means process the same moving picture information simultaneously, and said control means controls said first output means to select one of the results of processing by said processing means and said thinning means as the output.

14. An image processing system comprising:

a transmission-side image processing apparatus including;

an image processing apparatus comprising;

first input means for inputting moving-picture information including a plurality of frames;

processing means for obtaining a difference between successive frames on each pixel of the moving-picture information;

summation means for obtaining the sum of the difference between the successive frames on each pixel;

checking means for checking the number of pixels on which the difference between the successive frames is not zero;

thinning means for thinning out frames of the moving-picture information;

first determination means for determining whether the sum of the difference obtained by said summation means is less than a first threshold;

second determination means for determining whether the number checked by said checking means is less than a second threshold;

first output means for outputting the compressed moving-picture information and information indicative of a decompression procedure to decompress the compressed moving-picture information; and

control means for controlling said first output means so as to output moving-picture information thinned out by said thinning means when the sum of the difference is determined to be less than the first threshold by said first determination means and so as to output the difference obtained by said processing means when the sum of the difference is determined not to be less than the first threshold by said first determination means and the number is determined to be less than the second threshold by said second determination means; and

a reception-side image processing apparatus including;

second input means for inputting the information which is output from said first output means;

decompression means for decompressing moving-picture information based on the information indicative of the procedure input by said second input means and reproducing the moving-picture information before the compression; and

second output means for outputting the moving-picture information decompressed by said decompression means,

wherein said processing means and said thinning means process the same moving picture information simultaneously, and said control means controls said first output means to select one of the results of processing by said processing means and said thinning means as the output.

15. An image processing method comprising:

input step for inputting moving-picture information including a plurality of frames;

processing step for obtaining a difference between successive frames on each pixel of the moving-picture information;

summation step for obtaining the sum of the difference between the successive frames on each pixel;

checking step for checking the number of pixels on which the difference between the successive frames is not zero;

thinning step for thinning out frames of the input moving-picture information;

first determination step for determining whether the difference obtained at said summation step is less than a first threshold;

second determination step for determining whether the number checked at said checking step is less than a second threshold;

output step for outputting compressed information for the input moving-picture information; and

controlling step for controlling said output step so as to output moving-picture information thinned out at said thinning step when the sum of the difference is determined to be less than the first threshold in said first determination step as the compressed information and so as to output the difference obtained at said processing step as compressed information when the sum of the difference is determined not to be less than the first threshold by said first determination step and the number is determined to be less then the second threshold in said second determination step,

wherein said processing step and said thinning step process the same moving picture information simultaneously, and said control step for controlling said output step to select one of the results of processing by said processing step and said thinning step as the output.

16. The image processing method according to claim 15, wherein the method executes determination at said determination step periodically during the input of a moving-picture information from said input step, and dynamically executes selection at said output step corresponding to the result of determination at said determination step.