Multiresolution compressed image management system and method
First Claim
1. Image processing apparatus, for use in conjunction with an image display device, the image processing apparatus comprising:
- a memory device for storing data, including a first image data structure, the first image data structure including a first array of wavelet transform coefficients corresponding to a full resolution image;
a data processor coupled to the memory device;
a multiresolution image management procedure, executable by the data processor, including instructions for generating an image at any of a plurality of selectable resolution levels, the instructions including;
image reconstruction instructions for applying an inverse wavelet or wavelet-like transform to a specified set of image data so as to generate image data for displaying a corresponding image on the image display device; and
image data extraction instructions, for use when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected, wherein the image data extraction instructions generate a second image data structure from the first image data structure by extracting a subset of the wavelet transform coefficients from the first array and storing the extracted subset in a second array in the second image data structure;
wherein the image reconstruction instructions operate on the second image data structure when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected and operate on the first image data structure when a full image resolution is selected.
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Abstract
In a multiresolution image processing system images are stored in files that contain thumbnail data as well as a full image data structure. The image data is preferably wavelet or wavelet-like transform coefficients, generated by applying a wavelet or wavelet-like transform to an image multiple times. Data representing mid-level resolution images are generated on the fly by extracting from the full image data structure only the data needed for the user or application selected resolution level. If the user has selected a subset of the image for viewing at a higher resolution level, a corresponding mid-level resolution image is constructed by extracting from the full image data structure the data needed for the user specified image portion at the user or application selected resolution level. The full image data structure is preferably encoded and stored in a manner allowing the image data for mid-level resolution images to be efficiently extracted without having to compute or recompute any image coefficients. By storing only thumbnail data and the full image data in an image file, and producing image data structures for other resolution levels on the fly, the storage requirements for image files are reduced. Since the image data structures for other resolution levels can be generated with minimal computational resources in a small fraction of a second, in most implementations the user will not be adversely affected by the non-inclusion of the other resolution levels in the image file.
119 Citations
22 Claims
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1. Image processing apparatus, for use in conjunction with an image display device, the image processing apparatus comprising:
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a memory device for storing data, including a first image data structure, the first image data structure including a first array of wavelet transform coefficients corresponding to a full resolution image; a data processor coupled to the memory device; a multiresolution image management procedure, executable by the data processor, including instructions for generating an image at any of a plurality of selectable resolution levels, the instructions including; image reconstruction instructions for applying an inverse wavelet or wavelet-like transform to a specified set of image data so as to generate image data for displaying a corresponding image on the image display device; and image data extraction instructions, for use when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected, wherein the image data extraction instructions generate a second image data structure from the first image data structure by extracting a subset of the wavelet transform coefficients from the first array and storing the extracted subset in a second array in the second image data structure; wherein the image reconstruction instructions operate on the second image data structure when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected and operate on the first image data structure when a full image resolution is selected. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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2. Image processing apparatus, for use in conjunction with an image display device, the image processing apparatus comprising:
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a memory device for storing data, including a first image data structure, the first image data structure including a first array of wavelet transform coefficients corresponding to a full resolution image; a data processor coupled to the memory device; a multiresolution image management procedure, executable by the data processor, including instructions for generating an image at any of a plurality of selectable resolution levels, the instructions including; image reconstruction instructions for applying an inverse wavelet or wavelet-like transform to a specified set of image data so as to generate image data for displaying a corresponding image on the image display device; and image data extraction instructions, for use when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected, wherein the image data extraction instructions generate a second image data structure from the first image data structure by extracting a subset of the wavelet transform coefficients from the first array and storing the extracted subset in a second array in the second image data structure; wherein the image reconstruction instructions operate on the second image data structure when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected and operate on the first image data structure when a full image resolution is selected; wherein the first array includes a sequence of subarrays, each representing a rectangular set of wavelet coefficients in a respective region of a wavelet or wavelet-like transform coefficient array; the image data extraction instructions include instructions for copying a subset of the subarrays in the first array into the second array, without modification thereof, wherein the subarray subset is determined in accordance with the selected resolution level. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6)
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9. A method of processing image data, for use in conjunction with an image display device, the steps of the method comprising:
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storing a first image data structure, the first image data structure including a first array of wavelet or wavelet-like transform coefficients corresponding to a full resolution image; generating a second image data structure from the first image data structure by extracting a subset of the wavelet or wavelet-like transform coefficients from the first array and storing the extracted subset in a second array in the second image data structure; and applying an inverse wavelet or wavelet-like transform to the wavelet or wavelet-like transform coefficients in the second image data structure so as to generate image data for displaying a corresponding image on the image display device; wherein the first array includes a sequence of subarrays, each representing a rectangular set of coefficients in a respective region of a wavelet or wavelet-like transform coefficient array; the second image data structure generating step includes copying a subset of the subarrays in the first array into the second array, without modification thereof, wherein the subarray subset is determined in accordance with a selected resolution level. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer controlled system having memory and an image display device, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising:
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an image storage module for storing data, including a first image data structure, in the memory of the computer controlled system, the first image data structure including a first array of wavelet transform coefficients corresponding to a full resolution image, the first array including a sequence of subarrays, each representing a rectangular set of wavelet coefficients in a respective region of a wavelet or wavelet-like transform coefficient array; a multiresolution image management module, including instructions for generating an image at any of a plurality of selectable resolution levels, the instructions including; image reconstruction instructions for applying an inverse wavelet or wavelet-like transform to a specified set of image data so as to generate image data for displaying a corresponding image on the image display device; and image data extraction instructions, for use when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected, wherein the image data extraction instructions generate a second image data structure from the first image data structure by extracting a subset of the wavelet transform coefficients from the first array and storing the extracted subset in a second array in the second image data structure, the image data extraction instructions including instructions for copying a subset of the subarrays in the first array into the second array, without modification thereof, wherein the subarray subset is determined in accordance with the selected resolution level; wherein the image reconstruction instructions operate on the second image data structure when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected and operate on the first image data structure when a full image resolution is selected. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer controlled system having memory and an image display device, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising:
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an image storage module for storing data, including a first image data structure, in the memory of the computer controlled system, the first image data structure including a first array of wavelet transform coefficients corresponding to a full resolution image; a multiresolution image management module, including instructions for generating an image at any of a plurality of selectable resolution levels, the instructions including; image reconstruction instructions for applying an inverse wavelet or wavelet-like transform to a specified set of image data so as to generate image data for displaying a corresponding image on the image display device; and image data extraction instructions, for use when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected, wherein the image data extraction instructions generate a second image data structure from the first image data structure by extracting a subset of the wavelet transform coefficients from the first array and storing the extracted subset in a second array in the second image data structure; wherein the image reconstruction instructions operate on the second image data structure when an image resolution level lower than full resolution is selected and operate on the first image data structure when a full image resolution is selected. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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Specification