Image processing apparatus

• US 7,375,769 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2006
• Issued: 05/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yui, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ometz; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): DESIR, JEAN WICEL
• Application Number:
  US11/609,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20070081100A1
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 348/592, 348/584, 348/585, 348/587, 348/590, 348/591, 348/598, 348/599, 348/578, 348/588, 348/564, 348/565, 382/284, 382/283, 382/282, 345/629, 345/630, 345/581, 345/619, 715/714, 715/723, 715/762, 715/798, 358/540, 358/450
• US Class Current: 348/584
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/397 Arrangements specially adapted for transferring the contents of two or more bit-mapped memories to the screen simultaneously, e.g. for mixing or overlay G09G5/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4318 by altering the content in the rendering process, e.g. blanking, blurring or masking an image region image enhancement or restoration in general G06T5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4435 Memory management allocation of memory to service a request G06F9/5016; addressing or allocating within memory systems or architectures G06F12/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/641 Multi-purpose receivers, e.g. for auxiliary information H04N9/642 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/75 Chroma key

Abstract

In an apparatus for composing image data of a main picture and image data of a sub-picture by a chroma key process, an attribute of an image contained in the sub-picture is detected, a partial area of the sub-picture is set as a chroma key mask area in accordance with the attribute detection result, and composing the image data of the main picture and the image data of the sub-picture by executing the chroma key process for an area other than the chroma key mask area without executing the chroma key process for the chroma key mask area in the sub-picture.

Claims

1. An apparatus for composing a video image and a GUI image comprising:

a processor which sets a rectangular mask area for the GUI image based on an attribute of an object of the GUI image which has a color unable to be controlled by the processor in a chroma key process, and a composing unit for composing the video image and the GUI image by executing a chroma key process within the rectangular mask area.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute of the object includes at least one of a display position coordinate value, text information, color management information, and source attributes.