US6456328B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Object-oriented adaptive prefilter for low bit-rate video systems
Assignee: Sharp Corp
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Filing: 1996-12-18
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Granted: 2002-09-24
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Expires: 2016-12-18
Abstract
Abstract An object-oriented filter for filtering video images prior to video encoding is disclosed. The object-oriented filter is configured to include an image parameter extractor, a filter selector, and a filter. The image parameter extractor analyzes the input video sequences to map the location of pixels associated with one or more image parameters. Once the pixels associated with the image parameters are mapped, the filter selector ranks the identified image parameters based on their overall importance to the video sequence, and then selects a filtering factor for adjusting the strength of the filter used to filter the pixels associated with such identified image parameters. Thereafter, the pixels associated with each of the image parameters are filtered using the filter strength selected by the filter selector. An edge detector, skin detector, eyes-nose-mouth (ENM) region detector, and a moving region detector are optionally incorporated in the image parameter extractor when the image parameters identified are edge parameters, skin area parameters, eyes-nose-mouth (ENM) region parameters and moving region parameters, respectively.
Inventors
- 👤 Hiroyuki Okada
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 13:11
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N19/00; H04N19/80; H04N19/10; H04N19/169; H04N19/17; H04N19/186; H04N19/20
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
138 words
An apparatus for filtering a video signal, the apparatus comprising: a first connector adapted to receive a video signal; an extractor which analyzes the video signal and identifies pixels in the video signal that are associated with at least two predetermined image parameters, wherein the number of pixels associated with one of the image parameters is less than the total number of pixels in the video signal; a selector which assigns a first predetermined factor to the pixels associated with at least one of the predetermined image parameters; a filter which filters the video signal, wherein the filter strength applied to the pixels that are assigned the first predetermined factor is different from the filter strength applied to at least one other pixel in the video signal; and a second connector adapted to transmit the filtered video signal.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
138 words
An apparatus for filtering a video signal, the apparatus comprising: a first connector adapted to receive a video signal; an extractor which analyzes the video signal and identifies pixels in the video signal that are associated with at least two predetermined image parameters, wherein the number of pixels associated with one of the image parameters is less than the total number of pixels in the video signal; a selector which assigns a first predetermined factor to the pixels associated with at least one of the predetermined image parameters; a filter which filters the video signal, wherein the filter strength applied to the pixels that are assigned the first predetermined factor is different from the filter strength applied to at least one other pixel in the video signal; and a second connector adapted to transmit the filtered video signal.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the selector ranks the predetermined image parameters based on their overall importance to the video sequence.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the selector assigns the first predetermined factor a value within the range 1<N<256.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the extractor identifies pixels associated with an edge parameter.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein pixels associated with the edge parameter are identified based on changes in the magnitude of the pixel intensities for adjacent pixels.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the extractor identifies pixels associated with a skin area parameter.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
55 words
The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein pixels associated with the skin area parameter are determined by analyzing the shapes of objects in the video signal to identify objects of a desired shape and determining whether at least one pixel from an object of the desired shape has a luminance indicative of a skin area.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the extractor identifies pixels associated with an eyes-nose-mouth (ENM) region parameter.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
50 words
The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein pixels associated with the ENM region parameter are determined by analyzing the shapes of objects in the video signal to identify objects that are likely to contain faces, and determining whether the identified objects likely to contain faces have an axis of symmetry.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the extractor identifies pixels associated with a moving region parameter.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein pixels associated with the moving region parameter are identified using block based motion estimation techniques.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
122 words
A method of filtering a video signal, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a video signal; analyzing the video signal to identify pixels in the video signal that are associated with at least two predetermined image parameters, wherein the number of pixels associated with one of the image parameters is less than the total number of pixels in the video signal; assigning a first predetermined factor to the pixels associated with at least one of the predetermined image parameters; filtering the video signal, wherein the filter strength applied to the pixels that are assigned the first predetermined factor is different from the filter strength applied to at least one other pixel in the video signal; and transmitting the filtered video signal.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
122 words
A method of filtering a video signal, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a video signal; analyzing the video signal to identify pixels in the video signal that are associated with at least two predetermined image parameters, wherein the number of pixels associated with one of the image parameters is less than the total number of pixels in the video signal; assigning a first predetermined factor to the pixels associated with at least one of the predetermined image parameters; filtering the video signal, wherein the filter strength applied to the pixels that are assigned the first predetermined factor is different from the filter strength applied to at least one other pixel in the video signal; and transmitting the filtered video signal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein the predetermined image parameters are ranked based on their overall importance to the video sequence.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein the first predetermined factor assigned to the pixels associated with at least one of the predetermined image parameters is within the range 1<N<256.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein one of the at least two predetermined image parameters identified in the video signal is an edge parameter.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 15 , wherein pixels associated with the edge parameter are identified based on changes in the magnitude of the pixel intensities for adjacent pixels.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein one of the at least two predetermined image parameters identified in the video signal is a skin area parameter.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 17 , wherein the pixels associated with the skin area parameter are identified by analyzing the shape of objects in the video signal to locate objects of a desired shape, and determining whether at least one pixel from an object of the desired shape has a luminance indicative of a skin area.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein one of the at least two predetermined image parameters identified in the video signal is an eyes-nose-mouth (ENM) region parameter.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein the pixels associated with the eyes-nose-mouth (ENM) region parameter are identified by analyzing the shapes of objects in the video signal to identify objects that are likely to contain faces, and determining whether such identified objects likely to contain faces have an axis of symmetry.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein one of the at least two predetermined image parameters identified in the video signal is a moving region parameter.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein the pixels associated with the moving region parameter are identified using block based motion estimation techniques.
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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) | 2005-09-23 | 2006-03-25 | 2006-09-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-09-23 | 2010-03-25 | 2010-09-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-09-23 | 2014-03-25 | 2014-09-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |