Image filming and compression system, image filming and compression method, and recording medium storing processing program therefor

• US 6,134,347 A
• Filed: 07/20/1998
• Issued: 10/17/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.), Nippon Shinyaku Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Niwamoto, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sherali, Ishrat
• Application Number:
  US09/118,227
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 382/166, 382/162, 382/248, 348/395, 348/403-408, 348/277-280, 348/266, 348/663, 348/273, 348/223, 348/675, 358/515-516, 358/518, 358/512, 358/527, 358/530, 358/426, 358/462, 386/109, 386/112
• US Class Current: 382/166
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/00 Image coding bandwidth or redundancy reduction for static pictures H04N1/41; coding or decoding of static colour picture signals H04N1/64; methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/00

Abstract

An image filming and compression system includes a color complementary filter having a predetermined color arrangement; a CCD for generating image data for output according to the light of an object received via the color complementary filter; block forming circuit for dividing the image data into blocks; and image data converter circuit for calculating spatial frequency components of a luminance signal and color difference signals for each block according to the image data. The image data converter circuit directly calculates the spatial frequency components of the luminance signal and the color difference signals by conducting the only linear transformation on the image data. This obviates the need for a means to generate the luminance signal and the color difference signals according to which the spatial frequency components of the luminance signal and the color difference signals are calculated. Consequently, it becomes possible to conduct the processes from the image filming of the object to the compression of the image data with high efficacy, and hence to reduce the size of the system.

Claims

1. An image filming and compression system, comprising:

a filter member including a plurality of color filters arranged in a predetermined arrangement;

a solid state image sensor, including a plurality of pixels corresponding to the plurality of color filters, for filming an object via the filter member and outputting an electric signal from the plurality of pixels as image data according to an amount of light received;

a block forming circuit for dividing all the image data outputted by the solid state image sensor into blocks corresponding to the plurality of pixels according to the arrangement of the plurality of color filters constituting the filter member; and

an image data converter for calculating spatial frequency components of a luminance signal and a color difference signal for each block according to the image data obtained from the block forming circuit, wherein the image data converter calculates the spatial frequency components of the luminance signal and the color difference signal by conducting only linear transformation on the image data in each block.

2. The image filming and compression system as defined in claim 1, further comprising a data compression circuit for compressing the image data obtained from the image data converter.

3. The image filming and compression system as defined in claim 1, wherein the block forming circuit forms the blocks with all the image data so that horizontally adjacent blocks share image data for a predetermined column and so that vertically adjacent blocks share image data for a predetermined row.

4. The image filming and compression system as defined in claim 3, wherein the block forming circuit forms the blocks with all the image data, so that the horizontally adjacent blocks share the common image data for a column on a vertical edge of the block, and so that vertically adjacent blocks share the common image data for a row on a horizontal edge of the block.

5. The image filming and compression system as defined in claim 3, wherein the block forming circuit divides all the image data into blocks of 9 horizontal pixels×

18 vertical pixels of the solid state image sensor.

6. The image filming and compression system as defined in claim 3, wherein the block forming circuit divides all the image data into blocks of 9 horizontal pixels×

9 vertical pixels of the solid state image sensor.

7. The image filming and compression system as defined in claim 1,

wherein the image data converter calculates the spatial frequency components of the luminance signal and the color difference signal so that the number of image data outputted in a block of the solid state image sensor is equal to the total number of the spatial frequency components of the luminance signal and the color difference signal.

8. The image filming and compression system as defined in claim 7, wherein the block forming circuit forms the blocks with all the image data so that horizontally adjacent blocks and vertically adjacent blocks share no image data.

9. An image filming and compression method, comprising the sequential steps of:

(1) filming an object via a filter member including a plurality of color filters arranged in a predetermined arrangement with a solid state image sensor including a plurality of pixels corresponding to the plurality of color filters, and thus obtaining, from the plurality of pixels, an electric signal as image data according to an amount of light received;

(2) dividing all the image data outputted by the solid state image sensor into blocks corresponding to the plurality of pixels according to the arrangement of the plurality of color filters constituting the filter member; and

(3) calculating spatial frequency components of a luminance signal and a color difference signal for each block by conducting only linear transformation on the image data in each block.

10. A recording medium for storing a processing program for the image filming and compression method as defined in claim 9.