Image compression

• US 7,194,139 B1
• Filed: 09/05/1999
• Issued: 03/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lenslet Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Lenslet Ltd.
• Inventors: Shabtay, Gal, Zalevsky, Zeev, Levy, Uriel, Konforti, Naim, Shemer, Amir, Shklarsky, Dan, Sariel, Aviram, Cohen, Nadav, Mendlovic, David, Efron, Uzi, Raveh, Ido
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Kanjibhai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bayat, Ali
• Application Number:
  US09/926,547
• Time in Patent Office: 2,753 Days
• Field of Search: 382250-251, 382232-233, 382/239, 382245-246, 382/280, 382/218, 382/211, 382/103, 382/127, 382/116, 359/107, 359/558, 359/559, 359/290, 359/561, 359/601, 359/29, 708/816, 708/402, 708/403, 708/405, 708/821
• US Class Current: 382/250
• CPC Class Codes: G06E 3/005 using electro-optical or opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/262 using transform domain methods, e.g. Fourier domain methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/88 Image or video recognition using optical means, e.g. reference filters, holographic masks, frequency domain filters or spatial domain filters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 using transform coding

Abstract

A method of image compression, comprising: providing image-data encoding light; transforming said light from an image space to a transform space utilizing an optical component; and converting said transformed light into electrical signals, which electrical signals represent a compressed representation of said image data.

Claims

1. A method of data processing, comprising:

providing image-data in an image space that encodes light as a spaced-apart discrete input set with dead spaces between all input set elements wherein each element is windowed by a first window function;

transforming said light from the image space to a transform space utilizing a continuous optical Fourier transforming component; and

windowing spatially discrete regions in the transform space with a second window function that is related to the first window function by a matching condition so that at least one of intensities and phases of transformed light in the transform space regions are proportional to coefficients of a discrete transform of the input set; and

detecting data carried by said transformed light at the spatially discrete sampler regions.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein windowing comprises using a matching component.

3. A method according to claim 1, comprising compressing or decompressing said data using a transform-type compression/decompression method that uses said transforming.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said transforming comprises transforming using one or more optical elements which perform a block transform.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein said one or more optical elements comprises a matrix of optical lens elements.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein said one or more optical elements comprises an element which performs a vector by matrix multiplication.

7. A method according to claim 4, wherein said one or more optical element comprises a refractive element.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said refractive element comprises a bi-refringent material.

9. A method according to claim 4, wherein said one or more optical elements comprises an element which generates a matrix product.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein said matrix product comprises a triple matrix product.

11. A method according to claim 3, wherein said compression is a JPEG compression.

12. A method according to claim 3, wherein said compression is a MPEG compression.

13. A method according to claim 3, wherein said compression is a wavelet compression.

14. A method according to claim 3, wherein said data represents an image sequence.

15. A method according to claim 1, comprising post-processing said data to generate data that represents a transform other than a Fourier transform.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein said postprocessing comprises optically postprocessing.

17. A method according to claim 15, wherein said postprocessing comprises spatially modulating said light.

18. A method according to claim 15, wherein said preprocessing comprises mirroring said data.

19. Apparatus for optically processing data, comprising:

an input for receiving data;

a spatially modulated light source responsive to said input for presenting said input as a spaced apart discrete input set with dead spaces between all input set elements;

at least one continuous Fourier transforming optical component for transforming said data between an image space and a transform space, using a two dimensional signed discrete linear transform; and

a spatially discrete sampler for sampling at locations corresponding to said discrete transform.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said received data comprises uncompressed image data and comprising a processor for processing said data after said transform to yield compressed image data to be outputted.

21. Apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said processor performs at least some of its processing on optic waves.

22. Apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said processor performs at least some of its processing on electronic signals.

23. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said received data comprises compressed image data and comprising a processor for processing said data before said transform to yield transform data to be transformed by said optical component.

24. Apparatus according to claim 19, comprising an optical motion estimator.

25. Apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said optical motion estimator utilizes said optical component for optical motion estimation.

26. Apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said optical motion estimator includes at least one electronic component.

27. Apparatus according to claim 19, comprising an optical motion compensator.

28. Apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said optical motion compensator includes at least one electronic component.

29. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said data comprises an image sequence.

30. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said data is manipulated as blocks.

31. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said optical component comprises a holographic lens.

32. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said optical component comprises a matrix product calculating element.

33. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said light source comprises a binary SLM (spatial light modulator).

34. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said input is matched to said output to account for non-point light sources and detectors.

35. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said apparatus processes a plurality of data blocks in parallel.

36. Apparatus according to claim 35, wherein different data blocks are encoded differently, to reduce cross-talk between them.

37. Apparatus according to claim 35, comprising light attenuators arranged to attenuate light leaking between areas processing different data blocks.

38. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said optical component comprises a bi-refringent material.

39. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said input receives light waves from an imaged object and wherein said input spatially samples said light.

40. Apparatus according to claim 39, comprising a detector that converts said data into electrical signals.

41. Apparatus according to claim 40, comprising an electronic quantizer which quantizes said electronic signals to produce compressed data.

42. Apparatus according to claim 39, comprising a storage unit for storing at least one set of said electronic signals, corresponding to an image sequence.

43. A single integrated multi-block-transform optical element, comprising:

a plurality of optical groups each group comprising at least one optical sub-element,

wherein each of said optical groups optically transforms a block of data using a signed linear discrete transform,

wherein said block is part of a data set divided into blocks for block-transforming, including at least one other block being transformed in parallel by another optical group of said integrated element and

said data is arranged as a spatially impulse image.

44. An element according to claim 43, wherein said optical groups perform said transforming using a discrete optical component that applies a transform.

45. An element according to claim 43, wherein said at least one sub-element comprises a lenslet array portion.

46. An element according to claim 43, wherein said plurality of optical groups are arranged as a matrix.

47. An element according to claim 43, wherein said transform comprises a non-separable transform.