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US5404178A
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US
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Noise eliminating circuit
Assignee: Sony Corp
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Filing: 1993-10-06
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Granted: 1995-04-04
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Expires: 2013-10-06
Abstract
Abstract A noise eliminating circuit comprising a noise eliminating filter for moving image part to be used when an input image is of the moving image part, a noise eliminating filter for stationary image part to be used when the input image is of the station image part, these filters being adaptively selected between according to a motion of the input image, a detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image, and a selecting circuit for selecting between outputs of these filters based on an output of the detecting circuit, wherein the noise eliminating circuit for stationary image part outputs an average input image of number of stationary frames n to be entered. The novel constitution effectively suppresses a noise introduced in a moving image or a stationary image, generating an output signal with a good picture quality. Further, if outputs of the filters are adaptively mixed according to the motion of the input signal, a picture quality at a transition point between the moving image and the stationary image is substantially improved.
Inventors
- 👤 Tetsujiro Kondo
- 👤 Yasuhiro Fujimori
- 👤 Kunio Kawaguchi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 12:32
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N19/00; H04N19/80; G; G06; G06T; G06T7/00; G06T7/20; H04N5/00; H04N5/14; H04N5/144; H04N5/21
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
A noise eliminating circuit comprising: a moving image filter for reducing noise of a moving image part of an input image; a stationary image filter for reducing noise of a stationary image part of the input image; a motion detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image; and a selecting circuit for selecting an output of one or the other of said filters based on an output of said motion detecting circuit; wherein said stationary image filter combines an image part of the input image n times for n consecutive frames if said motion detecting circuit consecutively detects said image part as a stationary image part for said n consecutive frames, where n is a natural number.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
119 words
A noise eliminating circuit comprising: a moving image filter for reducing noise of a moving image part of an input image; a stationary image filter for reducing noise of a stationary image part of the input image; a motion detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image; and a selecting circuit for selecting an output of one or the other of said filters based on an output of said motion detecting circuit; wherein said stationary image filter combines an image part of the input image n times for n consecutive frames if said motion detecting circuit consecutively detects said image part as a stationary image part for said n consecutive frames, where n is a natural number.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
113 words
A noise eliminating circuit comprising: a moving image filter for reducing noise of a moving image part of an input image; a stationary image filter for reducing noise of a stationary image part of the input image; a motion detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image; and a mixing circuit for adaptively mixing outputs of said filters based on an output of said detecting circuit; wherein said stationary image filter combines an image part of the input image n times for n consecutive frames if said motion detecting circuit consecutively detects said image part as a stationary image part for said n consecutive frames, where n is a natural number.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
113 words
A noise eliminating circuit comprising: a moving image filter for reducing noise of a moving image part of an input image; a stationary image filter for reducing noise of a stationary image part of the input image; a motion detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image; and a mixing circuit for adaptively mixing outputs of said filters based on an output of said detecting circuit; wherein said stationary image filter combines an image part of the input image n times for n consecutive frames if said motion detecting circuit consecutively detects said image part as a stationary image part for said n consecutive frames, where n is a natural number.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
84 words
The noise eliminating filter according to claim 1, wherein said stationary image filter comprises: a frame memory; first multiplying means for multiplying the input image by 1/n; second multiplying means for multiplying an output of said frame memory by (n-1)/n, wherein n is reset to 1 when said motion detecting circuit detects the motion of the input image; and adding means for adding outputs of said first and second multiplying means, wherein an output of said adding means is supplied to said frame memory.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
57 words
The noise eliminating filter according to claim 2, wherein said output of said motion detecting circuit is indicative of a quantity of motion of the input image, and wherein said mixing circuit exhibiting a mixing ratio for mixing the outputs of said filters adaptively adjusts the mixing ratio in accordance with said output of said detecting circuit.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
131 words
A noise eliminating circuit comprising: a moving image filter for reducing noise of a moving image part of an input image; a stationary image filter for reducing noise of a stationary image part of the input image; a motion detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image; and a selecting circuit for selecting an output of one or the other of said filters based on an output of said motion detecting circuit, an output of said selecting circuit being supplied to said stationary image filter; wherein said stationary image filter combines an image part of the input image n times for n consecutive frames if said motion detecting circuit consecutively detects said part as a stationary image part for said n consecutive frames, where n is a natural number.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
131 words
A noise eliminating circuit comprising: a moving image filter for reducing noise of a moving image part of an input image; a stationary image filter for reducing noise of a stationary image part of the input image; a motion detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image; and a selecting circuit for selecting an output of one or the other of said filters based on an output of said motion detecting circuit, an output of said selecting circuit being supplied to said stationary image filter; wherein said stationary image filter combines an image part of the input image n times for n consecutive frames if said motion detecting circuit consecutively detects said part as a stationary image part for said n consecutive frames, where n is a natural number.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
128 words
A noise eliminating circuit comprising: a moving image filter for reducing noise of a moving image part of an input image; a stationary image filter for reducing noise of a stationary image part of the input image; a motion detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image; and a mixing circuit for adaptively mixing outputs of said filters based on an output of said detecting circuit; wherein said moving image filter is selectively supplied with the output of said stationary image filter and said stationary image filter combines an image part of the input image n times for n consecutive frames if said motion detecting circuit consecutively detects said part as a stationary image part for said n consecutive frames, where n is a natural number.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
128 words
A noise eliminating circuit comprising: a moving image filter for reducing noise of a moving image part of an input image; a stationary image filter for reducing noise of a stationary image part of the input image; a motion detecting circuit for detecting the motion of the input image; and a mixing circuit for adaptively mixing outputs of said filters based on an output of said detecting circuit; wherein said moving image filter is selectively supplied with the output of said stationary image filter and said stationary image filter combines an image part of the input image n times for n consecutive frames if said motion detecting circuit consecutively detects said part as a stationary image part for said n consecutive frames, where n is a natural number.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
79 words
The noise eliminating circuit according to claim 5, wherein said stationary image filter comprises: a frame memory for storing an output of said selecting means; first multiplying means for multiplying the input image by 1/n; second multiplying means for multiplying an output of said frame memory by (n-1)/n, wherein n is reset to 1 when said motion detecting circuit detects the motion of the input image; and adding means for adding outputs of said first and second multiplying means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
42 words
The noise eliminating circuit according to claim 1, further comprising: counter means responsive to said motion detecting circuit for counting the number n of said consecutive frames in which said part of the input image is consecutively detected as a stationary part.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
The noise eliminating circuit according to claim 2, further comprising: counter means responsive to said motion detecting circuit for counting the number n of said consecutive frames in which said part of the input image is consecutively detected as a stationary part.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The noise eliminating circuit according to claim 3, wherein the output of said adding means is supplied to said moving image filter.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-04-03 | 1998-10-03 | 1999-04-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-04-03 | 2002-10-03 | 2003-04-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-04-03 | 2006-10-03 | 2007-04-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |