Image processing apparatus and image communicating apparatus

• US 5,537,150 A
• Filed: 04/28/1993
• Issued: 07/16/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sugiyama, Akira, Iizuka, Yoshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Murrell, Jeffrey S.
• Application Number:
  US08/053,382
• Time in Patent Office: 1,175 Days
• Field of Search: 348/555, 348/556, 348/558, 348/445, 348/472, 348/220, 348/222, 348/571, 348/441, 348/459, 348/440
• US Class Current: 348/558
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/39 involving multiple description coding [MDC], i.e. with separate layers being structured as independently decodable descriptions of input picture data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/86 involving reduction of coding artifacts, e.g. of blockiness
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/236 Assembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. transport stream, by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, e.g. inserting a URL [Uniform Resource Locator] into a video stream, multiplexing software data into a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, e.g. to obtain a constant bit-rate; Assembling of a packetised elementary stream multiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0122 the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios

Abstract

An image communication apparatus includes circuitry for discriminating a transmission rate of received image data. Control circuitry is also provided for controlling a display process of the received image data in accordance with the transmission rate determined by the discriminating circuitry.

Claims

1. Image communicating apparatus for processing image data transmitted through a transmission line, the transmission rate of the image data being variable, comprising:

receiving means for receiving the image data;

discriminating means for discriminating the transmission rate of the image data received by said receiving means;

display processing means for executing a process for displaying the image data received by said receiving means; and

control means for changing a process of said display-processing means in accordance with the transmission rate discriminated by said discriminating means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls a display size of the received image data.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the transmission rate discriminated by said discriminating means is low, said control means sets the display size of the received image data to a value smaller than that in a case where the transmission rate is high.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means changes smoothing characteristics of the received image data in accordance with the transmission rate discriminated by said discriminating means.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the received image data is moving image data.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the received image data comprises image data adapted to the H.261 standard.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

reproducing means for reproducing the received image data as a visible image.

8. Image communicating apparatus for processing image data transmitted through a transmission line, a transmission rate of the image data being variable, comprising:

receiving means for receiving the image data;

discriminating means for discriminating the transmission rate of the image data received by said receiving means;

image size discriminating means for discriminating an image size of an image corresponding to the image data received by said received means; and

conversion means for converting a display size of the image corresponding to the received image data in response to an output of said discriminating means and an output of said image size discriminating means.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

visible image display means for displaying the received image data as a visible image.

10. Apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising display means for displaying the image converted by said conversion means.

11. Image processing apparatus for processing image data transmitted through a transmission line, a transmission rate of the image data being variable, comprising:

receiving means for receiving the image data;

discriminating means for discriminating the transmission rate of the image data received by said receiving means;

smoothing means for smoothing the image data received by said receiving means; and

control means for changing a smoothing process of said smoothing means in response to the transmission rate discriminated by said discriminating means.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the received image data is block encoded.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said smoothing means executes the smoothing process so as to eliminate a block distortion which occurs due to the block encoding.

14. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the received image data is moving image data.

15. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein, when the transmission rate discriminated by said discriminating means is lower than a predetermined value, said control means changes the smoothing process of said smoothing means to a smoothing process which is stronger than a smoothing process used when the transmission rate discriminated by said discriminating means is higher than the predetermined value.

16. Image processing apparatus for processing image data transmitted through a transmission line, a transmission rate of the image data being variable, comprising:

input means for inputting the image data;

discriminating means for discriminating the transmission rate of the image data inputted by said input means; and

conversion means for converting an aspect ratio of the inputted image data to a different aspect ratio in response to the transmission rate discriminated by said discriminating means.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising display means for displaying an image corresponding to the inputted image data converted by said conversion means.

18. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the input image data comprises block-encoded data.