Apparatus and method of color converting a dominant color

• US 8,254,673 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2007
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kwak, Young-shin, Hong, Ji-young, Nam, Gun-woo, Park, Du-sik
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta, Bhavesh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Nirav G
• Application Number:
  US11/837,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20080144929A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,842 Days
• Field of Search: 382/162
• US Class Current: 382/167
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/56 relating to colour
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6058 Reduction of colour to a range of reproducible colours, e.g. to ink- reproducible colour gamut

Abstract

An apparatus and method of reproducing a preferred color is provided. The apparatus includes a color distribution analysis module to analyze a distribution of colors in an input image, a dominant color extraction module to extract a dominant color from the input image according to a result of the analysis, a conversion domain determination module to determine a conversion domain to be processed in a color space based on a proportion of the dominant color, and a color conversion module to convert colors in the input image that belong to the conversion domain.

Claims

1. An apparatus to reproduce a preferred color, the apparatus comprising:

a color distribution analysis module to analyze a distribution of colors from at least one lattice cell in an input image;

a dominant color extraction module to extract a dominant color from the at least one lattice cell according to a result of the analysis;

a conversion domain determination module to determine a single conversion domain from a predefined conversion domain or domains, to be processed in a color space, if the extracted dominant color accounts for more than a threshold percentage of the input image; and

a color conversion module to convert the colors in the input image that belong to the determined single conversion domain,

wherein the color conversion module converts the colors that belong to the single conversion domain so that the colors can be approximated to a target color, and the single conversion domain comprises the extracted dominant color that accounts for more than the threshold percentage of the input image.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the dominant color is a color that represents each zone in the input image.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversion domain determination module determines the single conversion domain based on information of an area occupied by the dominant color.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the color conversion module does not convert colors on boundaries of the conversion domain and the color of the target color but consecutively converts all other colors in the conversion domain.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the color conversion module converts the colors that belong to the single conversion domain so that the colors are convertible to converted colors based on a vector from a reference color to a target color.

6. A method of reproducing a preferred color, the method comprising:

analyzing a distribution of colors from at least one lattice cell in an input image and extracting a dominant color from at least one lattice cell according to a result of the analysis;

determining a single conversion domain from a predefined conversion domain or domains, to be processed in a color space, if the extracted dominant color accounts for more than a threshold percentage of the input image; and

converting the colors in the input image that belong to the determined single conversion domain,

wherein the converting the colors comprises converting the colors that belong to the single conversion domain so that the colors can be approximated to a target color, and the single conversion domain comprises the extracted dominant color that accounts for more than the threshold percentage of the input image.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the dominant color is a color that represents each zone in the input image.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the single conversion domain is determined based on information of an area occupied by the dominant color.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the converting of the colors further comprises not converting colors on boundaries of the conversion domain and the color of the target color but consecutively converting all other colors in the conversion domain.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the converting of the colors comprises converting the colors that belongs to the single conversion domain so that the colors can be converted to converted colors based on a vector from a reference color to a target color.

11. A method of reproducing a preferred color, the method comprising:

analyzing a distribution of colors from at least one lattice cell in an input image and extracting a dominant color from the at least lattice cell according to a result of the analysis;

determining whether the extracted dominant color accounts for more than a threshold percentage of the input image;

selecting a single conversion domain regarding an accent color if the extracted dominant color is determined to account for more than the threshold percentage of the input image and selecting a single conversion domain regarding a memory color otherwise; and

converting the colors in the input image that belong to the selected single conversion domain of one of the accent color or the memory color,

wherein the converting the colors comprises converting the colors belonging to the selected single conversion domain so that the colors can be approximated to a target color, and the single conversion domain comprises the extracted dominant color that accounts for more than the threshold percentage of the input image.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the determining of the extracted dominant color comprises determining whether the extracted dominant color accounts for more than a threshold percentage of the input image with reference to information indicating an area occupied by the extracted dominant color.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the accent color is red or yellow.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the memory color conversion domain and the accent color conversion domain partially overlap each other.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the converting of the colors further comprises not converting colors on boundaries and the color of the target color of the selected conversion domain but consecutively converting all other colors of the selected conversion domain.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the converting of the colors comprises converting the colors that belong to the selected conversion domain so that the colors can be converted to converted colors based on a vector from a reference color to a target color.

17. A color reproducing method of a display, comprising:

determining a dominant color of at least one lattice cell in an input image based on an arrangement of colors of the at least one lattice cell; and

selectively converting colors of a single conversion domain from a predefined conversion domain or domains, of the input image relative to a target color, wherein the single conversion domain corresponds to the dominant color and is represented in a color space,

wherein the selectively converting colors comprises converting the colors belonging to the selected single conversion domain so that the colors can be approximated to a target color, and the single conversion domain comprises the extracted dominant color that accounts for more than the threshold percentage of the input image.

18. The color reproducing method of claim 17, wherein the determining of the dominant color further comprises:

delineating an input image into a plurality of zones containing a plurality of pixels;

obtaining a distribution of color information of the plurality of pixels over a plurality of color levels for each zone;

determining the dominant color of each zone based on a distribution frequency of the color information over the plurality of color levels; and

determining the dominant color of the input image based on a distribution of the dominant colors of the plurality of zones.

19. The color reproducing method of claim 18, wherein the single conversion domain corresponds to one of a memory color or an accent color, and the selectively converting of the colors further comprises determining whether to convert the colors corresponding to the single conversion domain of one of the memory color or the accent color.

20. The color reproducing method of claim 18, wherein the conversion domain comprises high-chroma colors to avoid conversion of the accent colors as memory colors.

21. The color reproducing method of claim 20, wherein the colors are converted using the equation

22. The color reproducing method of claim 20, wherein the colors are converted using the equation

D:

d=|{right arrow over (R)}|;

|{right arrow over (r)}|

{right arrow over (P)}′

={right arrow over (P)}+{right arrow over (r)}

where {right arrow over (P)} indicates one of the colors, {right arrow over (P)}′

indicates a color obtained by performing the color conversion on the one of the colors, D is a distance from a reference color to a boundary of a gamut along a straight line passing through the one of the colors, d is a distance between the one of the colors and the boundary of the gamut along the same straight line, R is the straight-line distance from the reference color to the target color, and r is the straight-line distance from the one of the colors to the converted color.

23. A color reproducing apparatus of a display, comprising:

a processor to determine a dominant color of at least one lattice cell in an input image based on an arrangement of colors of the at least one lattice cell, and to selectively convert colors of a single conversion domain from a predefined conversion domain or domains, of the input image relative to a target color, wherein the single conversion domain corresponds to the dominant color and is represented in a color space, and to output the input image having the converted colors; and

a display to display the input image having the converted colors,

wherein the selectively converting colors comprises converting the colors belonging to the selected single conversion domain so that the colors can be approximated to a target color, and the single conversion domain comprises the extracted dominant color that accounts for more than the threshold percentage of the input image.

24. The color reproducing apparatus of a display of claim 23, wherein the processor delineates an input image into a plurality of zones containing a plurality of pixels, obtains a distribution of color information of the plurality of pixels over a plurality of color levels for each zone, determines the dominant color of each zone based on a distribution frequency of the color information over the plurality of color levels, and determines the dominant color of the input image based on a distribution of the dominant colors of the plurality of zones.

25. The color reproducing apparatus of a display of claim 24, wherein the conversion domain corresponds to one of a memory color or an accent color, and the selectively converting of the colors further comprises determining whether to convert the colors corresponding to the conversion domain of one of the memory color or the accent color.

26. The color reproducing apparatus of a display of claim 25, wherein the conversion domain comprises high-chroma colors to avoid conversion of the accent colors as memory colors.

27. The color reproducing apparatus of a display of claim 25, wherein the processor converts the colors using the equation

28. The color reproducing apparatus of a display of claim 25, wherein the processor converts the colors using the equation

D:

d=|{right arrow over (R)}|;

|{right arrow over (r)}|

{right arrow over (P)}′

={right arrow over (P)}+{right arrow over (r)}

where {right arrow over (P)} indicates one of the colors, {right arrow over (P)}′

indicates a color obtained by performing the color conversion on the one of the colors, D is a distance from a reference color to a boundary of a gamut along a straight line passing through the one of the colors, d is a distance between the one of the colors and the boundary of the gamut along the same straight line, R is the straight-line distance from the reference color to the target color, and r is the straight-line distance from the one of the colors to the converted color.