Patent US5838833A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5838833A
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Fractal image compression method and device and fractal image restoration method and device
Assignee: Minolta Co Ltd
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Filing: 1996-06-07
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Granted: 1998-11-17
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Expires: 2016-06-07
Abstract
Abstract Image compression is accomplished by dividing an image into blocks which are encoded and compressed by finding similarities among the blocks. Image quality and speed are increased through several mechanisms such as varying the size of the blocks when image edges or test is present, by comparing the image blocks to prestored image patterns rather than other portions of the image, using raw data rather than compressed data under certain conditions and the use of inspection areas to increase the possibility of finding the most similar area quickly.
Inventors
- 👤 Atsushi Ishikawa
- 👤 Tetsuya Itoh
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 11:41
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T9/00; G06T9/001
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
189 words
A fractal image compression device comprising: a domain block allocation means for dividing an original image into a plurality of domain blocks; a density pattern storing means for storing as domain blocks a plurality of density pattern data created independently for the original image; a range block allocation means for dividing said original image into a plurality of range blocks having different size from said domain blocks; a pattern generating means for selecting the domain blocks output from the domain block allocating means or the domain blocks read from the density pattern storing means, and converting said selected domain block to a pattern of the same size as said range block allocated by said range block allocation means; an error calculation means for calculating error by comparing said range block and said pattern generated by said pattern generating means; and a coding means for coding the original image data by generating a code data which contains information relating to a conversion parameter producing the smallest error in said pattern for the range block and information relating to the position of the domain block having the smallest error in pattern.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
189 words
A fractal image compression device comprising: a domain block allocation means for dividing an original image into a plurality of domain blocks; a density pattern storing means for storing as domain blocks a plurality of density pattern data created independently for the original image; a range block allocation means for dividing said original image into a plurality of range blocks having different size from said domain blocks; a pattern generating means for selecting the domain blocks output from the domain block allocating means or the domain blocks read from the density pattern storing means, and converting said selected domain block to a pattern of the same size as said range block allocated by said range block allocation means; an error calculation means for calculating error by comparing said range block and said pattern generated by said pattern generating means; and a coding means for coding the original image data by generating a code data which contains information relating to a conversion parameter producing the smallest error in said pattern for the range block and information relating to the position of the domain block having the smallest error in pattern.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
48 words
The fractal image compression device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said range block allocation means divides said original image into a plurality of range blocks smaller in size than the domain blocks, and a pattern generating means subjects the domain blocks to affine transformation including reduction conversion.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The fractal image compression device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said affine transformation includes rotation conversion and density inversion conversion.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
117 words
The fractal image compression device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said coding means generates the code data relating to a domain block having the smallest error among the domain blocks read out from the density pattern storing means when there is a pattern with an error less than a set threshold value among the domain blocks read out from the density pattern recording means, and generates the code data relating to a domain block having the smallest error from among the domain blocks output from the domain block allocating means when there is no pattern with an error less than a set threshold value among the domain blocks read out from the density pattern recording means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
131 words
A fractal image compression method comprising: dividing an original image into a plurality of range blocks; dividing an original image into a plurality of domain blocks; comparing a range block to be compressed with domain blocks; coding original image data by outputting code data containing information relating to a domain block most similar to a range block based on said comparison result when the range block to be compressed is a range block which does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and by outputting raw image data of a range block to be compressed as code data when said range block is a range block satisfying the predetermined condition, wherein the predetermined condition designates a range block as special when an error of the range block is greater than a threshold value.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
131 words
A fractal image compression method comprising: dividing an original image into a plurality of range blocks; dividing an original image into a plurality of domain blocks; comparing a range block to be compressed with domain blocks; coding original image data by outputting code data containing information relating to a domain block most similar to a range block based on said comparison result when the range block to be compressed is a range block which does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and by outputting raw image data of a range block to be compressed as code data when said range block is a range block satisfying the predetermined condition, wherein the predetermined condition designates a range block as special when an error of the range block is greater than a threshold value.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
177 words
A fractal image compression device comprising: a domain block allocation means for dividing an original image into a plurality of domain blocks; a range block allocation means for dividing said original image into a plurality of range blocks having different size from said domain blocks; a pattern generating means for converting said domain block to a pattern of the same size as said range block; an error calculation means for calculating error by comparing said range block and said pattern; and a coding means for coding original image data by outputting code data containing information relating to a domain block most similar to a range block based on said comparison result when the range block to be compressed is a range block which does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and by outputting raw image data of a range block as code data when said range block is a range block satisfying the predetermined condition, wherein the predetermined condition designates a range block as special when the error of the range block is greater than a threshold value.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
177 words
A fractal image compression device comprising: a domain block allocation means for dividing an original image into a plurality of domain blocks; a range block allocation means for dividing said original image into a plurality of range blocks having different size from said domain blocks; a pattern generating means for converting said domain block to a pattern of the same size as said range block; an error calculation means for calculating error by comparing said range block and said pattern; and a coding means for coding original image data by outputting code data containing information relating to a domain block most similar to a range block based on said comparison result when the range block to be compressed is a range block which does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and by outputting raw image data of a range block as code data when said range block is a range block satisfying the predetermined condition, wherein the predetermined condition designates a range block as special when the error of the range block is greater than a threshold value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
43 words
The fractal image compression device as claimed in claim 6, wherein said coding means outputs raw image data of a range block as code data when there is no pattern with an error less than a set threshold value among the domain blocks.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
149 words
A fractal image compression device comprising: a domain block allocation means for dividing an original image into a plurality of domain blocks; a range block allocation means for dividing said original image into a plurality of range blocks having different size from said domain blocks; a ranking means for ranking said domain blocks; a pattern generating means for converting said domain blocks sequentially from the highest ranking domain blocks to patterns of the same size as said range block allocated by said range block; an error calculation means for calculating error by comparing said range block and said pattern; and a coding means for coding the original image data by generating a code data which contains information relating to a conversion parameter producing the smallest error in said pattern for the range block and information relating to the position of the domain block having the smallest error in pattern.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
149 words
A fractal image compression device comprising: a domain block allocation means for dividing an original image into a plurality of domain blocks; a range block allocation means for dividing said original image into a plurality of range blocks having different size from said domain blocks; a ranking means for ranking said domain blocks; a pattern generating means for converting said domain blocks sequentially from the highest ranking domain blocks to patterns of the same size as said range block allocated by said range block; an error calculation means for calculating error by comparing said range block and said pattern; and a coding means for coding the original image data by generating a code data which contains information relating to a conversion parameter producing the smallest error in said pattern for the range block and information relating to the position of the domain block having the smallest error in pattern.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
The fractal image compression device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said ranking means includes an inspection area allocating means for allocating an original image into a plurality of inspection areas and ranks said inspection areas.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
61 words
The fractal image compression device as claimed in claim 9 wherein said coding means generates code data relating to a domain block having the smallest error among domain blocks allocated within an inspection area when the pattern of the domain block allocated in a selected inspection area sequentially selected from the highest ranking inspection area is less than a threshold value.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
34 words
The fractal image compression device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said ranking means ranks inspection areas such that an inspection area containing a range block specified for code data generation is ranked first.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-11-16 | 2002-05-18 | 2002-11-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-11-16 | 2006-05-18 | 2006-11-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-11-16 | 2010-05-18 | 2010-11-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |