Block retouching

• US 7,024,039 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2002
• Issued: 04/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Malvar, Henrique S., Simard, Patrice Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAWAN, SHEELA C
• Application Number:
  US10/180,649
• Publication Number:
  US 20030202698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,378 Days
• Field of Search: 348/586, 348/587, 348/590, 348/571, 348/584, 348/598, 382/181, 382/190, 382/195, 382/199, 382/128, 382/162, 382/254, 382/266, 382/283, 382/284, 382/264, 358/448, 358/464
• US Class Current: 382/195
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/77 Retouching; Inpainting; Scratch removal
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/194 involving foreground-background segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/86 involving reduction of coding artifacts, e.g. of blockiness

Abstract

A system and method facilitating image retouching is provided. The invention includes an image retoucher having a boundary detector and an image extender. The invention provides for the image retoucher to extend care pixels of at least one of a foreground and a background near a detected spurious boundary by altering the binary mask used for compression of the foreground and/or the background.

Claims

1. An image retoucher, comprising:

a boundary detector adapted to detect a spurious boundary in a document image comprising a foreground and a background, detection being based, at least in part, upon information stored in a binary mask; and

,

an image extender adapted to extend care pixels of at least one of the foreground and the background near the spurious boundary, extension being based at least in part, by alteration of the binary mask.

2. The image retoucher of claim 1, the boundary detector identifying the spurious boundary by identifying a horizontal or vertical boundary line between merged regions tat is longer than a first threshold quantity of pixels for which one side of the boundary line is foreground and the other side of to boundary is background.

3. The image retoucher of claim 2, the boundary detector further adapted to perform a linear regression along the boundary line, the spurious boundary being detected if the linear regression on either side differs by more than a second threshold amount.

4. The image retoucher of claim 3, extensian being based upon extending care pixels near the spurious boundary of the foreground on the side of the spurious boundary that is foreground and extending care pixels near the spurious boundary of the background on the side of the spurious boundary that is background.

5. The image retoucher of claim 2, the boundary detector further adapted to compare the average of the foreground along the boundary line with the average of the background on to other side of the boundary, to spurious boundary being detected if the averages differ by more than a second threshold amount.

6. The image retoucher of claim 1, the binary mask being based, at least in part, upon a partition of the document image based, at least in part, upon minimization of pixel energy of at least one of the foreground and the background.

7. A photocopier employing to image retoucher of claim 1.

8. A document scanner employing the image retoucher of claim 1.

9. An optical character recognition system employing the image retoucher of claim 1.

10. A personal digital assistant employing the image retoucher of claim 1.

11. A fax machine employing the image retoucher of claim 1.

12. A digital camera employing the image retoucher of claim 1.

13. A digital video camera employing the image retoucher of claim 1.

14. A segmented layered image system employing the image retoucher of claim 1.

15. A method for retouching an image, comprising:

detecting a spurious boundary in a document image comprising a foreground and a background utilizing information stored in a binary mask; and

,

extending care pixels of at least one of the foreground and the background near the spurious boundary by altering the binary mask, the altered binary mask being used for compressing at least one of the foreground and the background.

16. The method of claim 15, detection of the spurious boundary being based, at least in part, upon identification of a horizontal or vertical boundary line between merged regions that is longer than a first threshold quantity of pixels for which one side of the boundary line is foreground and the other side of the boundary is background.

17. The method of claim 16, detection of the spurious boundary being based, at least in part, upon a linear regression along the boundary line, the spurious boundary being detected if the linear regression on either side differs by more than a second threshold amount.

18. The method of claim 16, detection of the spurious boundary being based, at least in part, upon an average of the foreground along the boundary line with an average of the background on the other side of the boundary, the spurious boundary being detected if the averages differ by more than a second threshold amount.

19. A segmented layered image system, comprising:

a mask separator adapted to assign pixels of a document image into at least one of a foreground and a background, the assignment information stored in a binary mask; and

,

an image retoucher comprising a boundary detector adapted to detect a spurious boundary in the document image, detection being based, at least in part, upon information stored in the binary mask, the image retoucher further comprising an image extender adapted to extend care pixels of at least one of the foreground and die background near the spurious boundary, extension being based, at least in part, by alteration of the binary mask used for compression of at least on of the foreground and the background.

20. A data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or more computer components that facilitates image retouching, the data packet comprising:

information associated with a retouched mask, the retouchedmask comprising at least one altered care pixel, alteration being based, at least in pan, upon detection of a spurious boundary and extension of a care pixel in at least one of a foreground and a background near the spurious boundary by alteration of a binary mask used for compression of at least one of the foreground and the background.

21. A computer readable medium storing computer executable components of a system for image retouching, comprising:

an boundary detector component adapted to detect a spurious boundary in a document image comprising a foreground and a background, detection being based, at least in part, upon information stored in a binary mask; and

,

an image extender component adapted to extend care pixels of at least one of the foreground and the background near the spurious boundary, extension being based at least in part, by alteration of the binary mask used for compression of at least one of the foreground and the background.

22. A computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions operable to perform a method for retouching an image, comprising:

detecting a spurious boundary in a document image comprising a foreground and a background utilizing information stored in a binary mask; and

,

extending care pixels of at least one of the foreground and the background near the spurious boundary by altering the binary mask used for compression of at least one of the foreground and the background.

23. An image processor, comprising:

means for detecting a spurious boundary in a document image utilizing information stored in a binary mask; and

,

means for extending care pixels of at least one of a foreground and a background near the spurious boundary by altering the binary mask used for compression of at least one of the foreground and the background.