Image processing device, image processing method, image processing program, and image display device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9495733-B2
Application number	US-201314420018-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 7, 2013
Priority date	Aug 7, 2012
Publication date	Nov 15, 2016
Grant date	Nov 15, 2016

Abstract

A contour direction estimating unit estimates a contour direction in which signal values of pixels are constant values for each pixel, a low pass filter unit smooths a signal value of the pixel based on a signal value of each reference pixel that is a pixel of a reference region corresponding to the pixel and arranged in the contour direction of the pixel estimated by the contour direction estimating unit for each pixel, and a high frequency expanding unit generates a high frequency component of the signal value of the pixel and expands a frequency band for the signal value of the pixel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image processing device, comprising:
input circuitry that receives an external image signal;
contour direction estimating circuitry that estimates a contour direction in which signal values are constant values for each pixel of the external image signal;
low pass filter circuitry that smooths a signal value of the pixels of the external image signal based on a signal value of each reference pixel that is a pixel of a reference region corresponding to the pixel and arranged in the contour direction of the pixel estimated by the contour direction estimating circuitry for each pixel;
high frequency expanding circuitry that generates a high frequency component of the signal value of the pixel and expands a frequency band for the signal value of the pixel; and
output circuitry that transmits a processed image signal corresponding to the signal value of the pixel.

2. The image processing device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the low pass filter circuitry includes
reference region weighting processing circuitry that decides a weighting coefficient of the reference pixel in a direction of a predetermined range from the contour direction of the pixel to be a value larger than the weighting coefficient of the reference pixel in the direction outside the predetermined range, and
first composition operation circuitry that smooths the signal value of the pixel using a value obtained by performing an operation on the signal value of each reference pixel using the weighting coefficient of the reference pixel decided by the reference region weighting processing circuitry.

3. The image processing device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the reference region weighting processing circuitry extracts the weighting coefficient and the signal value of each reference pixel in a direction of a predetermined range from the contour direction of the pixel, and
the first composition operation circuitry uses a value obtained by an operation using the weighting coefficient and the signal value extracted by the reference region weighting processing circuitry.

4. The image processing device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the high frequency expanding circuitry includes
non-linear filter circuitry that generates a high frequency component for the signal value of the pixel smoothed by the low pass filter circuitry, and
second composition operation circuitry that synthesizes the signal value of the pixel smoothed by the low pass filter circuitry with the high frequency component of the signal value generated by the non-linear filter circuitry.

5. The image processing device according to claim 4 ,
wherein the non-linear filter circuitry generates a high frequency component related to the contour direction of the pixel estimated by the contour direction estimating circuitry.

6. An image display device, comprising:
contour direction estimating circuitry that estimates a contour direction in which signal values are constant values for each pixel;
low pass filter circuitry that smooths a signal value of the pixel based on a signal value of each reference pixel that is a pixel of a reference region corresponding to the pixel and arranged in the contour direction of the pixel estimated by the contour direction estimating unit for each pixel;
high frequency expanding circuitry that generates a high frequency component of the signal value of the pixel and expands a frequency band for the signal value of the pixel; and
a display on which an image corresponding to the signal value of the pixel is displayed.

7. The image display device according to claim 6 ,
wherein the low pass filter circuitry includes
reference region weighting processing circuitry that decides a weighting coefficient of the reference pixel in a direction of a predetermined range from the contour direction of the pixel to be a value larger than the weighting coefficient of the reference pixel in the direction outside the predetermined range, and
first composition operation circuitry that smooths the signal value of the pixel using a value obtained by performing an operation on the signal value of each reference pixel using the weighting coefficient of the reference pixel decided by the reference region weighting processing circuitry.

8. The image display device according to claim 7 ,
wherein the reference region weighting processing circuitry extracts the weighting coefficient and the signal value of each reference pixel in a direction of a predetermined range from the contour direction of the pixel, and
the first composition operation circuitry uses a value obtained by an operation using the weighting coefficient and the signal value extracted by the reference region weighting processing circuitry.

9. The image display device according to claim 6 ,
wherein the high frequency expanding circuitry includes
non-linear filter circuitry that generates a high frequency component for the signal value of the pixel smoothed by the low pass filter circuitry, and
second composition operation circuitry that synthesizes the signal value of the pixel smoothed by the low pass filter circuitry with the high frequency component of the signal value generated by the non-linear filter circuitry.

10. The image display device according to claim 9 ,
wherein the non-linear filter circuitry generates a high frequency component related to the contour direction of the pixel estimated by the contour direction estimating circuitry.

11. An image processing method of an image processing device, comprising:
a first step of estimating a contour direction in which signal values are constant values for each pixel through the image processing device;
a second step of smoothing a signal value of the pixel based on a signal value of each reference pixel that is a pixel of a reference region corresponding to the pixel and arranged in the estimated contour direction of the pixel for each pixel through the image processing device;
a third step of generating a high frequency component of the signal value of the pixel and expanding a frequency band for the signal value of the pixel through the image processing device; and
a step of outputting a processed image signal corresponding to the signal value of the pixel.

12. The image processing method according to claim 11 ,
wherein the second step includes
a fourth step of deciding a weighting coefficient of the reference pixel in a direction of a predetermined range from the contour direction of the pixel to be a value larger than the weighting coefficient of the reference pixel in the direction outside the predetermined range, and
a fifth step of smoothing the signal value of the pixel using a value obtained by performing an operation on the signal value of each reference pixel using the weighting coefficient of the reference pixel decided in the fourth process.

13. The image processing method according to claim 12 ,
wherein the fourth step includes extracting the weighting coefficient and the signal value of each reference pixel in a direction of a predetermined range from the contour direction of the pixel, and
the fifth step includes using a value obtained by an operation using the weighting coefficient and the signal value extracted in the fourth process.

14. The image processing method according to claim 11 ,
wherein the third step includes
a sixth step of generating a high frequency component for the signal value of the pixel smoothed in the second step, and
a seventh step of synthesizing the signal value of the pixel smoothed in the second step with the high frequency component of the signal value generated in the sixt

Assignees

• Sharp Kk

Inventors

• Murahashi Yoshimitsu

Classifications

• G06T5/20 Primary

  using local operators · CPC title

• H04N5/213

  Circuitry for suppressing or minimising impulsive noise (for suppressing or minimising disturbance in image signal generation H04N23/81) · CPC title

• H04N1/4092

  Edge or detail enhancement · CPC title

• G06T7/0085

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06T2207/20192

  Edge enhancement; Edge preservation · CPC title