Image processing apparatus, image processing method, noise-amount estimate apparatus, noise-amount estimate method, and storage medium

• US 7,454,083 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2006
• Issued: 11/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kondo, Tetsujiro, Kobayashi, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Desire; Gregory M
• Application Number:
  US11/504,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20060274975A1
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 348/452, 348/535, 348/607, 348/699, 348/533, 375/240.24, 382/236, 382/252, 382/254, 382/276, 382/112, 382/275, 382/286
• US Class Current: 382/275
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/20 using local operators
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/40 using histogram techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/254 involving subtraction of images

Abstract

An image processing apparatus processes input pixel data and outputs the processed pixel data as output pixel data. The image processing apparatus includes an input reliability calculation section for calculating an input reliability indicating the reliability of the input pixel data, an output reliability calculation section for calculating an output reliability indicating the reliability of the output pixel data, a motion-amount detecting section for detecting the amount of the motion of the input pixel data, a compensation section for compensating the output reliability according to the amount of the motion, and a processing section for processing the input pixel data according to the input reliability and the compensated output reliability and for outputting the output pixel data.

Claims

1. A noise-amount estimate apparatus for estimating an amount of noise in data, comprising:

input means for receiving input data of a present time interval;

first latching means for latching the input data of the present time interval;

second latching means for latching an immediate previous input data from an immediate previous time interval,

wherein the immediate previous input data is received from the first latching means;

noise-amount calculation means for calculating the amount of noise in the present time interval as a function of a calculated variance of the input data stored in the first latching means and the second latching means,

outputting means for outputting the calculated amount of noise as the amount of noise in the data.

2. A noise-amount estimate apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said noise-amount calculation means obtains the peak value of the histogram to calculate the value corresponding to the variance having the peak value as the amount of noise.

3. A noise-amount estimate apparatus for estimating an amount of noise in data, comprising:

an input unit configured to receive input data of a present time interval;

a first latching unit configured to latch the input data of the present time interval;

a second latching unit configured to latch an immediate previous input data from an immediate previous time interval,

wherein the immediate previous input data is received from the first latching unit;

a noise-amount calculation unit configured to calculate the amount of noise in the present time interval as a function of a calculated variance of the input data stored in the first latching unit and the second latching unit, an outputting unit configured to output the calculated amount of noise as the amount of noise in the data.

4. A noise-amount estimate apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said noise-amount calculation unit obtains the peak value of the histogram to calculate the value corresponding to the variance having the peak value as the amount of noise.