Method for image processing and electronic device supporting thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9898799-B2
Application number	US-201615052083-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 24, 2016
Priority date	Feb 24, 2015
Publication date	Feb 20, 2018
Grant date	Feb 20, 2018

Abstract

An image processing method and an electronic device supporting the method are provided. The electronic device includes a processor having an image processing module processing an input image, and a memory, wherein the processor obtains image data that is processed for the input image, wherein the memory stores volatile information which is temporarily obtained from the image during an image processing process of the image processing module.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a memory configured to store image data;
a processor, functionally connected with the memory and including at least one image processing module configured to process an image, the processor configured to:
obtain image data from the processing of the image, and
store volatile information that is temporarily obtained from the image during the image processing; and

an image pipeline formed of a plurality of image processing modules configured to perform the image processing in stages,
wherein the processor is further configured to:
obtain the image data, which is processed for the image in stages, from the image pipeline,
store the volatile information, which is obtained from at least one of the plurality of image processing modules, in the memory, and
store the volatile information in a header of a storage format of the image data based on a hierarchical structure grouping similar information in different scale ratios by layers.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a second processor configured to process the volatile information,
wherein the second processor is configured to store the processed volatile information in the memory.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to process the volatile information in storage units differentiated by types of the volatile information.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to allow the volatile information to have different layers by types of the volatile information.

5. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the processor is further configured to encode a total number of layers of the hierarchical structure and the scale ratios by the layers in security keys and to store the encoded security keys in a security field of the header.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine layers, which accord to types of the volatile information, based on at least one of a reference unit for storage, complexity of the image, or similarity with adjacent information.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to use volatile information, which is obtained from at least a first image processing module of the plurality of image processing modules, for an image processing operation of a second image processing module placed at the next stage of the first image processing module in the image pipeline.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to use the volatile information in post-processing the image data.

9. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor further comprises an image codec,
wherein the image codec is configured to use the volatile information for an image processing operation with the image data.

10. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to use the volatile information in utilizing the image data through an application.

11. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the volatile information is at least one of a black level, a color temperature, an average brightness, positional brightness information, positional high-frequency information, color distortion information, positional noise information, edge information, and temporal information of the image.

12. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a communication interface,
wherein the processor is further configured to share the volatile information of the image with other electronic device through the communication interface.

13. An image processing method comprising:
obtaining image data from an image processing module processing an input image;
storing volatile information of the image in a header of a storage format of the image data based on a hierarchical structure grouping similar information in different scale ratios by layers; and
performing the image processing in stages,
wherein the volatile information is temporarily obtained from the image during the image processing of the image processing module.

14. The image processing method of claim 13 , wherein the obtaining of the image data comprises:
obtaining the image data that is processed in stages through an image pipeline formed of a plurality of image processing modules processing the image in stages,
wherein the volatile information is temporarily obtained during the image processing by a corresponding one of the plurality of image processing modules in the image pipeline.

15. The image processing method of claim 14 , wherein the obtaining of the image data comprises:
in processing the input image in stages along the image pipeline by the plurality of image processing module, using volatile information, which is obtained from at least a first image processing module of the plurality of image processing modules, for an image processing operation of a second image processing module placed at the next stage of the first image processing module in the image pipeline; and
obtaining the image data from the image pipeline.

16. The image processing method of claim 13 , wherein the storing of the volatile information comprises:
processing the volatile information and storing the processed volatile information; or
storing the volatile information based on a hierarchical structure grouping similar information in different scale ratios by layers.

17. The image processing method of claim 16 , wherein a total number of layers of the hierarchical structure, and the scale ratios by the layers, are encoded into security keys to be stored in a security field of the header,
wherein layers, which accord to types of the volatile information, are determined based on at least one of a reference unit for storage, complexity of the image, or similarity with adjacent information.

18. The image processing method of claim 13 , further comprising:
utilizing the volatile information in at least one of post-processing the image data, processing the image data through an image codec, or processing the image data through an application,
wherein the volatile information is at least one of a black level, a color temperature, an average brightness, positional brightness information, positional high-frequency information, color distortion information, positional noise information, edge information, and temporal information of the image.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Sung Oh
• Park Hyun Hee
• Lee Yong Man
• Kim Kwang Young
• Lee Ki Huk
• Kim Kwang Tai
• Kim Soo Hyung
• Kim Hyun Soo
• Ryu Eun Seok
• Jeong Jin Hong

Classifications

• G06T1/60 Primary

  Memory management · CPC title

• G06T1/20

  Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining · CPC title

• G06F9/00

  Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units (program control for peripheral devices G06F13/10) · CPC title