Image data encoding system and image inputting apparatus

• US 6,424,726 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2001
• Issued: 07/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Personal Computers, Ltd. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Masahiro, Nakano, Hirotaka, Manabe, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns, Andrew W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alavi, Amir
• Application Number:
  US09/907,256
• Publication Number:
  US 20010046308A1
• Time in Patent Office: 371 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/115, 382/116, 382/119, 382/137, 382/138, 382/232, 382/238, 382/246, 382/250, 382/251, 382/248, 380/210, 380/252, 380/287, 380/51, 380/54, 713/176, 370/527, 370/529
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0035 Output size adaptive watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0052 Embedding of the watermark in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0053 Embedding of the watermark in the coding stream, possibly without decoding; Embedding of the watermark in the compressed domain
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32154 Transform domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32165 using cosine transforms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32187 with selective or adaptive application of the additional information, e.g. in selected frequency coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32192 according to calculated or estimated visibility of the additional information in the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32277 Compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/00 Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/467 characterised by the embedded information being invisible, e.g. watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/324 Selecting a particular authentication information from amongst a plurality of different authentication information

Abstract

An image data encoding system is disclosed, that comprises a discrete cosine transforming means for discrete-cosine transforming the original image, an electronic watermark data embedding means for embedding the electronic watermark data in the data that has been transformed by the discrete cosine transforming means, and a data selecting means for selecting the output signal of the discrete cosine transforming means or the output signal of the electronic watermark data embedding means. Another image data encoding system is also disclosed, that comprises an electronic watermark embedding means for embedding electronic watermark data selected from a plurality of types of electronic watermark data to the digital image data, wherein at least one of the plurality of types of electronic watermark data is predetermined electronic watermark data that does not affect the digital image data even if the electronic watermark data is embedded in the digital image data.

Claims

1. An image data encoding system for encoding digital image data in a predetermined encoding manner and outputting the resultant image data, which comprises:

an electronic watermark embedding means for embedding electronic watermark data selected from a plurality of types of electronic watermark data to said digital image data,

wherein at least one of the plurality of types of electronic watermark data is predetermined electronic watermark data which does not affect said digital image data even if embedded in said digital image data.

2. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 1,

wherein said predetermined electronic watermark data is composed of other than random numbers generated by an algorithm corresponding to a normal distribution.

3. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 1, which further comprises:

transforming means for transforming said digital image data into frequency components and outputting the resultant data to said electronic watermark data embedding means;

quantizing means for quantizing the data in which electronic watermark data has been embedded by said electronic watermark data embedding means; and

a variable-length encoding means for encoding output data of said quantizing means into variable-length code.

5. An image data encoding system for encoding digital image data in a predetermined manner and outputting the resultant data, comprising:

a plurality of electronic watermark data tables having a plurality of types of electronic watermark data for identifying said digital image data;

an electronic watermark data selecting means for selecting one of said electronic watermark data tables; and

an electronic watermark data embedding means for embedding the selected type of electronic watermark data in said digital image data,

wherein at least one of said electronic watermark data tables has a predetermined electronic watermark data which does not affect said digital image data even if embedded in the digital image data.

6. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 5,

wherein said predetermined electronic watermark data is composed of other than random numbers generated by an algorithm corresponding to a normal distribution.

7. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 5, which further comprises:

transforming means for transforming said digital image data into frequency components and outputting the resultant data to said electronic watermark data embedding means;

a quantizing means for quantizing the data in which electronic watermark data has been embedded by said electronic watermark data embedding means; and

a variable-length encoding means for encoding output data of said quantizing means into variable-length code.

8. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 7,

wherein said predetermined electronic watermark data is composed of other than random numbers generated by an algorithm corresponding to a normal distribution.

9. An image inputting apparatus, which comprises:

image pickup means for obtaining an analog image signal;

analog-to-digital converting means for converting said analog image signal obtained by said image pickup means into image data;

transforming means for transforming said image data into data in first frequency domain;

storing means for temporarily storing the data in said first frequency domain;

identification data holding means for holding identification data;

means for adding said identification data to the data in the first frequency domain and generating data in second frequency domain; and

selecting means for selecting either of the data in said first frequency domain and the data in said second frequency domain and outputting the selected data.

10. The image inputting apparatus as set forth in claim 9,

wherein said transforming means is an orthogonal transforming means.

11. The image inputting apparatus as set forth in claim 9, which further comprises:

compressing means for compressing and encoding the output signal of said selecting means.

12. An image inputting apparatus, comprising:

image pickup means for obtaining an analog image signal;

analog-to-digital converting means for converting said analog image signal obtained by said image pickup means into image data;

transforming means for transforming said image data into data in first frequency domain;

storing means for temporarily storing said image data;

identification data holding means for holding identification data;

means for adding the identification data to the data in said first frequency domain and generating data in second frequency domain;

inverse-transforming means for inversely transforming the data in said second frequency domain into data in time domain; and

selecting means for selecting either of the output signal of said inverse-transforming means and the output signal of said storing means.

13. The image inputting apparatus as set forth in claim 12,

wherein said transforming means is an orthogonal transforming means and said orthogonal inverse-transforming means is an orthogonal inverse-transforming means.

14. The image inputting apparatus as set forth in claim 12, which further comprises:

compressing means for compressing and encoding the output signal of said selecting means.

15. An image data encoding system for encoding digital image data in a predetermined encoding manner and outputting the resultant image data, which comprises:

an electronic watermark embedding unit for embedding electronic watermark data selected from a plurality of types of electronic watermark data to said digital image data,

wherein at least one of the plurality of types of electronic watermark data is predetermined electronic watermark data which does not affect said digital image data even if embedded in said digital image data.

16. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 15,

wherein said predetermined electronic watermark data is composed of other than random numbers generated by an algorithm corresponding to a normal distribution.

17. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 15, which further comprises:

a transforming unit for transforming said digital image data into frequency components and outputting the resultant data to said electronic watermark data embedding unit;

a quantizing unit for quantizing the data in which electronic watermark data has been embedded by said electronic watermark data embedding unit; and

a variable-length encoding unit for encoding output data of said quantizing unit into variable-length code.

18. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 17,

wherein the predetermined electronic watermark data is composed of other than random numbers generated by an algorithm corresponding to a normal distribution.

19. An image data encoding system for encoding digital image data in a predetermined manner and outputting the resultant data, comprising:

a plurality of electronic watermark data tables having a plurality of types of electronic watermark data for identifying said digital image data;

an electronic watermark data selecting unit for selecting one of said electronic watermark data tables; and

an electronic watermark data embedding unit for embedding the selected type of electronic watermark data in said digital image data,

wherein at least one of said electronic watermark data tables has a predetermined electronic watermark data which does not affect said digital image data even if embedded in the digital image data.

4. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 20,

wherein the predetermined electronic watermark data is composed of other than random numbers generated by an algorithm corresponding to a normal distribution.

20. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 19,

wherein said predetermined electronic watermark data is composed of other than random numbers generated by an algorithm corresponding to a normal distribution.

21. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 19, which further comprises:

a transforming unit for transforming said digital image data into frequency components and outputting the resultant data to said electronic watermark data embedding unit;

a quantizing unit for quantizing the data in which electronic watermark data has been embedded by said electronic watermark data embedding unit; and

a variable-length encoding unit for encoding output data of said quantizing unit into variable-length code.

22. The image data encoding system as set forth in claim 21,

wherein said predetermined electronic watermark data is composed of other than random numbers generated by an algorithm corresponding to a normal distribution.

23. An image inputting apparatus, which comprises:

an image pickup unit for obtaining an analog image signal;

an analog-to-digital converting unit for converting said analog image signal obtained by said image pickup unit into image data;

a transforming unit for transforming said image data into data in first frequency domain;

a storing unit for temporarily storing the data in said first frequency domain;

an identification data holding unit for holding only digital identification data;

a unit for adding said identification data to the data in the first frequency domain and generating data in second frequency domain; and

a selecting unit for selecting either of the data in said first frequency domain and the data in said second frequency domain and outputting the selected data.

24. The image inputting apparatus as set forth in claim 23,

wherein said transforming unit is an orthogonal transforming unit.

25. The image inputting apparatus as set forth in claim 23, which further comprises:

a compressing unit for compressing and encoding the output signal of said selecting unit.

26. An image inputting apparatus, comprising:

an image pickup unit for obtaining an analog image signal;

an analog-to-digital converting unit for converting said analog image signal obtained by said image pickup unit into image data;

a transforming unit for transforming said image data into data in first frequency domain;

a storing unit for temporarily storing said image data;

an identification data holding unit for holding identification data;

a unit for adding the identification data to the data in said first frequency domain and generating data in second frequency domain;

an inverse-transforming unit for inversely transforming the data in said second frequency domain into data in time domain; and

a selecting unit for selecting either of the output signal of said inverse-transforming unit and the output signal of said storing unit.

27. The image inputting apparatus as set forth in claim 26,

wherein said transforming unit is an orthogonal transforming unit and said orthogonal inverse-transforming unit is an orthogonal inverse-transforming unit.

28. The image inputting apparatus as set forth in claim 26, which further comprises:

a compressing unit for compressing and encoding the output signal of said selecting unit.