Mapping colors of an image

• US 8,798,361 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2012
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bao, Sheng Hua, Chen, Jian, Su, Zhong, Yang, Xin Ying
• Primary Examiner(s): TSAI, TSUNG YIN
• Application Number:
  US13/405,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20120219214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 890 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 382/164
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/60 Colour correction or control H04N1/54 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/62 Retouching, i.e. modification of isolated colours only or in isolated picture areas only

Abstract

A method and system for mapping colors of an image. The method including the steps of: segmenting an image into a plurality of regions, so that pixels in each of the plurality of regions have a characteristic that meets a predetermined similarity; determining an initial contrast between adjacent regions in the plurality of regions; and transforming an initial color of each of the plurality of regions into a target color; where a target contrast between the adjacent regions in the plurality of regions is equal to or greater than the initial contrast or a difference between the target contrast and corresponding initial contrast is less than a predetermined threshold; and where at least one of the steps is carried out by a computer device.

Claims

1. A method of mapping colors of an image, the method comprising the steps of:

segmenting an image into a plurality of regions, so that pixels in each of said plurality of regions have a characteristic that meets a predetermined similarity;

determining an initial contrast between adjacent regions in said plurality of regions by determining a color of a representative point of each of the adjacent regions as said initial colors Cl and C2 and calculating a difference between said initial colors Cl and C2 and an initial color C3 of a border between the adjacent regions in order to determine said initial contrast, wherein determining the initial contrast between adjacent regions in said plurality of regions further comprises;

merging at least one of said initial contrasts for adjacent regions having the same initial color; and

removing redundant initial contrasts between each of said plurality of regions and its said adjacent regions that have the same initial color; and

transforming an initial colors C1, C2 and C3 of into a target color C1′

, C2′ and

C3′

, respectively;

wherein said target colors are selected such that a target contrast between said adjacent regions in said plurality of regions is equal to or greater than said initial contrast and a difference between said target contrast and corresponding initial contrast is less than a predetermined threshold and such that (C1-C3)/(C2-C3) equals (C1′

-C3′

)/ C2′

-C3′

); and

wherein at least one of the steps is carried out by a computer device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of transforming an initial color of each of said plurality of regions into a target color further comprises the steps of:

transforming said initial color of one of said regions with said initial contrasts into said target color;

determining, based on said initial contrasts between regions with said initial contrasts, target color of said region that is related to a region for which said target color has been determined;

repeating said step of determining target color until said target colors of said regions with said initial contrasts are determined; and

transforming said initial colors of other regions than said regions with said initial contrasts into said target colors.

3. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangibly embodying a computer readable program code having computer readable instructions which when implemented, cause a computer to carry out the steps of a method comprising the steps of:

segmenting an image into a plurality of regions, so that pixels in each of said plurality of regions have a characteristic that meets a predetermined similarity;

determining an initial contrast between adjacent regions in said plurality of regions by determining an initial color of a representative point of each of the adjacent regions as said initial colors Cl and C2 and calculating a difference between said initial colors Cl and C2 and an initial color C3 of a border between the adjacent regions in order to determine said initial contrast, wherein determining the initial contrast between adjacent regions in said plurality of regions further comprises;

merging at least one of said initial contrasts for adjacent regions having the same initial color; and

removing redundant initial contrasts between each of said plurality of regions and its said adjacent regions that have the same initial color; and

transforming the initial colors C1, C2 and C3 into a target color C1′

, C2′ and

C3′

, respectively;

wherein said target color is selected such that a target contrast between said adjacent regions in said plurality of regions is equal to or greater than said initial contrast and a difference between said target contrast and corresponding initial contrast is less than a predetermined threshold and such that (C1-C3)/(C2-C3) equals (C1′

-C3′

)/ C2′

-C3′

); and

wherein at least one of the steps is carried out by a computer device.