System using one or more residual image(s) to represent an extended color gamut digital image

• US 6,282,312 B1
• Filed: 09/28/1998
• Issued: 08/28/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Spaulding, Kevin E., McCarthy, Ann L., Giorgianni, Edward J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancuso, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bayat, Ali
• Application Number:
  US09/162,201
• Time in Patent Office: 1,065 Days
• Field of Search: 382/162-167, 382/240, 358/1.9, 358/518, 358/520, 358/523, 358/504, 358/517, 348/431.1, 348/434.1, 345/153, 345/155
• US Class Current: 382/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6058 Reduction of colour to a range of reproducible colours, e.g. to ink- reproducible colour gamut
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/64 Systems for the transmission or the storage of the colour picture signal; Details therefor, e.g. coding or decoding means therefor H04N19/00 takes precedence

Abstract

A digital image processing system includes one or more opto-electronic image digitization device(s) which digitize still photographic images and produce an extended color gamut digital image corresponding to each still photographic image, and an image processing unit, coupled with said image digitization device(s), which is operative to receive a plurality of extended color gamut digital images from the image digitization device(s). The image processing unit produces at least one limited color gamut digital image from each said extended color gamut digital image by adjusting the color values of the extended color gamut digital image to fit within a limited color gamut; represents each said limited color gamut digital image in a storage color space; determines one or more residual image(s) each representing a difference between one said extended color gamut digital image and its corresponding limited color gamut digital image; and associates each limited color gamut digital image in the storage color space with its residual image(s) such that the associated residual images and the limited color gamut digital images in the storage color space are adapted to be used to reconstruct extended color gamut digital images.

Claims

1. A digital image processing system comprising:

a) one or more opto-electronic image digitization device(s) which digitize still photographic images and produce an extended color gamut digital image corresponding to each still photographic image; and

b) an image processing unit, coupled with said image digitization device(s), which is operative to receive a plurality of extended color gamut digital images from said image digitization device(s) and including means for;

i) producing at least one limited color gamut digital image from each said extended color gamut digital image by adjusting the color values of the extended color gamut digital image to fit within a limited color gamut;

ii) representing each said limited color gamut digital image in a storage color space;

iii) determining a difference between one said extended color gamut digital image and its corresponding limited color gamut digital image forniing one or more residual image(s); and

iv) storing each limited color gamut digital image in the storage color space with its residual image(s) such that the associated residual images and the limited color gamut digital images in the storage color space are adapted to be used to reconstruct extended color gamut digital images.

2. The system according to claim 1 where at least one of the opto-electronic image digitization devices produces extended color gamut digital images from scans of photographic negatives.

3. The system according to claim 1 where at least one of the opto-electronic image digitization devices produces extended color gamut digital images from scans of photographic transparencies.

4. The system according to claim 1 where at least one of the opto-electronic image digitization devices produces extended color gamut digital images from scans of photographic prints.

5. The system according to claim 1 where at least one of the opto-electronic image digitization devices is a digital camera producing extended color gamut digital images from original scenes.

6. The system according to claim 1 where the extended color gamut digital images are representative of the colors of original scenes.

7. The system according to claim 1 where the extended color gamut digital images are representative of the colors of a photographic medium.

8. The system according to claim 1 where the extended color gamut digital images are represented as adjusted color values that are desirable for an extended color gamut display device.

9. The system according to claim 8 where the extended color gamut display device is a hypothetical display device having an idealized color gamut.

10. The system according to claim 1 where the limited color gamut digital images are determined by clipping colors that are outside the limited color gamut so that they are on the surface of the limited color gamut.

11. The system according to claim 1 where the limited color gamut digital images are determined by using gamut mapping that preserves color appearance.

12. The system according to claim 1 where the limited color gamut digital images are determined by modifying color values that are outside the limited color gamut so that they are mapped to color values within the limited color gamut.

13. The system according to claim 1 where the extended color gamut digital images have a larger range of chroma values than the limited color gamut digital images.

14. The system according to claim 1 where the extended color gamut digital images have a larger luminance dynamic range than the limited color gamut digital images.

15. The system according to claim 14 wherein the means for adjusting the color values of each extended color gamut digital image to determine a corresponding limited color gamut digital image includes applying a tone scale function to reduce the luminance dynamic range of the image.

16. The system according to claim 14 where the extended luminance dynamic range digital images are monochrome digital images.

17. The system according to claim 1 including a particular display device and wherein each limited color gamut digital image is determined by adjusting the colors of an extended color gamut digital image to produce adjusted color values that are desirable for the particular display device.

18. The system according to claim 1 where each residual image is determined by computing a difference between each extended color gamut digital image represented in an extended storage color space and its corresponding limited color gamut digital image represented in the storage color space.

19. The system according to claim 1 wherein said image processing unit is operative to compress the limited color gamut digital images in the storage color space using an image data compression technique.

20. The system according to claim 19 where each residual image is determined by computing a difference between each extended color gamut digital image represented in an extended storage color space and an uncompressed limited color gamut digital image computed from its corresponding compressed limited color gamut digital image.

21. The system according to claim 1 where the storage color space is a particular device dependent color space.

22. The system according to claim 21 where the storage color space is a video RGB color space.

23. The system according to claim 1 wherein the storage color space is a particular limited color gamut color space.

24. The system according to claim 1 wherein the system uses a digital storage medium and said image processing unit includes means for producing digital image files, using the digital storage medium, containing limited color gamut digital images in the storage color space with their associated residual images.

25. The system according to claim 24 further including a digital file output unit, coupled to said image processing unit, which is operative to store the digital image files on a transportable digital storage medium.

26. The system according to claim 24 where the residual images are stored as additional data in the digital image files.

27. The system according to claim 24 where an image data compression technique is applied to the residual images before they are stored so that they each use a smaller amount of digital storage memory.

28. The system according to claim 24 where the limited color gamut digital images are stored in the digital image files, and the associated residual images are stored in separate associated digital image files.

29. The digital image processing system comprising:

a) one or more opto-electronic image digitization device(s) which digitize still photographic images and produce an extended color gamut digital image corresponding to each still photographic image; and

b) an image processing unit, coupled with said image digitization device(s), which is operative to receive a plurality of extended color gamut digital images from said image digitization device(s) and including means for;

i) producing at least one modified extended color gamut digital image from said extended color gamut digital images;

ii) producing at least one limited color gamut digital image from each said modified extended color gamut digital image by adjusting the color values of the modified extended color gamut digital image to fit within a limited color gamut;

iii) representing each said limited color gamut digital image in a storage color space;

iv) determining a difference between one said modified extended color gamut digital image and its corresponding limited color gamut digital image forming one or more residual image(s); and

v) storing each limited color gamut digital image in the storage color space with its residual image(s) such that the associated residual images and the limited color gamut digital images in the storage color space are adapted to be used to reconstruct extended color gamut digital images.

30. The system according to claim 29 further including a softcopy display device and user command input device, coupled to said image processing unit, for providing interactively user specified modification(s) to the extended color gamut digital image(s).

31. The system according to claim 29 wherein the modification(s) to the extended color gamut digital image(s) are determined by applying an automatic algorithm.

32. A digital image processing system for receiving information from a transportable digital storage medium and for producing an image for a particular display device, comprising:

a) a digital file input unit, coupled to read the contents of the transportable digital storage medium containing one or more digital image file(s) that have been stored thereon, said digital image file(s) containing limited color gamut digital image(s) in a storage color space with associated stored residual image(s) such that the associated residual image(s) and the limited color gamut digital image(s) are adapted to be used to reconstruct extended color gamut digital images with each of the residual image(s) comprising a difference between corresponding extended color gamut digital images and limited color gamut digital images; and

b) an image processing unit, coupled to said digital file input unit, said image processing unit for accepting one or more of said digital image file(s) from said digital file input unit, and using the digital image(s) contained in said digital image file(s) to form digital image(s) appropriate for display on the particular display device.

33. The system according to claim 32 wherein the residual image(s) together with the limited color gamut digital image(s) in the storage color space are used to reconstruct extended color gamut digital image(s).

34. The system according to claim 33 wherein the reconstructed extended color gamut digital image(s) are used to form the digital image(s) appropriate for display on the particular display device.

35. The system according to claim 32 wherein the particular display device has a color gamut different than the limited color gamut.

36. The system according to claim 32 wherein said image processing unit is operative to digitally transmit at least one said digital image file through digital communications.

37. The system according to claim 32 further including at least one hardcopy display device operative to accept a plurality of digital images and to produce corresponding hardcopy photographic prints.

38. A digital image processing system comprising:

a) one or more digital file source(s), being individually or any combination of a digital file input unit, coupled to read the contents of a transportable digital storage medium containing one or more digital image file(s) that have been stored thereon, or a digital communications connection operative to receive one or more digital file(s), said digital image file(s) containing limited color gamut digital image(s) in a storage color space with associated stored residual image(s) such that the associated residual image(s) and the limited color gamut digital image(s) are adapted to be used to reconstruct extended color gamut digital image(s) with each of the residual image(s) comprising a difference between corresponding extended color gamut digital images and limited color gamut digital images; and

b) an image processing unit, coupled to said digital file input unit, said image processing unit being operative to accept one or more of said digital image file(s) from said digital file input unit, and including means for;

i) specifying at least one desirable modification to one or more of the limited color gamut digital image(s) and associated residual image(s) contained in said digital image file(s); and

ii) using each residual image together with its limited color gamut digital image in the storage color space, and its specified desirable modification(s), to determine each corresponding modified extended color gamut digital image.

39. The system according to claim 38 wherein the residual image(s) together with the limited color gamut digital image(s) in the storage color space are used to reconstruct extended color gamut digital image(s).

40. The system according to claim 39 wherein the desirable modification(s) are determined by using the reconstructed extended color gamut digital image(s).

41. The system according to claim 38 further including a softcopy display device, coupled with said image processing unit, and is operative to display a preview of digital image(s) by displaying the limited color gamut digital image(s) in the storage color space.

42. The system according to claim 41 further including a user command input device, coupled to said image processing unit and said softcopy display device, for providing interactively user specified desirable modification(s) to the limited color gamut digital image(s) and their associated residual image(s).

43. The system according to claim 38 wherein the desirable modification(s) to the limited color gamut digital image(s) and associated residual image(s) are determined by applying an automatic algorithm.

44. The system according to claim 38 wherein said image processing unit further includes means for:

i) producing at least one modified limited color gamut digital image from each said modified extended color gamut digital image by adjusting the color values of the modified extended color gamut digital image to fit within a limited color gamut;

ii) representing each said modified limited color gamut digital image in a storage color space;

iii) determining one or more modified residual image(s) each representing a difference between one said modified extended color gamut digital image and its corresponding modified limited color gamut digital image; and

iv) associating each modified limited color gamut digital image in the storage color space with its modified residual image(s) such that the associated modified residual image(s) and the modified limited color gamut digital image(s) in the storage color space are adapted to be used to reconstruct extended color gamut digital image(s).

45. The system according to claim 44 wherein the system uses a digital storage medium and said image processing unit includes means for producing one or more modified digital image file(s), using the digital storage medium, containing modified limited color gamut digital image(s) in the storage color space with their associated modified residual image(s).

46. The system according to claim 44 further including a digital file output unit, coupled to said image processing unit, which is operative to store said modified digital image file(s) on a transportable digital storage medium.

47. The system according to claim 44 wherein said image processing unit also being operative to digitally transmit at least one said modified digital image file through digital communications.

48. The system according to claim 38 wherein said image processing unit is operative to use said modified extended color gamut digital image(s) to form digital image(s) appropriate for display on a particular display device.

49. The system according to claim 48 further including at least one hardcopy display device operative to accept a plurality of digital images and to produce corresponding hardcopy photographic prints.