Patent US6724946B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6724946B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Image processing method, apparatus and storage medium therefor
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 2000-03-21
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Granted: 2004-04-20
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Expires: 2020-03-21
Abstract
Abstract Disclosed are an image processing method, apparatus and storage medium for forming a mosaic image by combining a plurality of material images. The method includes dividing an image, which is the basis of the mosaic image, into a plurality of tile areas, obtaining an image characteristic of each tile area obtained by division, calculating distances between the image characteristics of each of the tile areas and image characteristics of respective ones of the plurality of material images, selecting material images corresponding to each of the tile areas in dependence upon result of calculation of the distances, forming a mosaic image by pasting the selected material images to the corresponding tile areas, and subjecting this mosaic image to filtering processing, thereby generating a mosaic image in which the joints between tile areas are no longer noticeable.
Inventors
- 👤 Kiyoshi Kusama
- 👤 Kentaro Matsumoto
- 👤 Miyuki Enokida
- 👤 Kunihiro Yamamoto
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 12:30
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T3/00; G06T3/40; G06T3/4038; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/20; G06V10/24; G06V10/10; G06V10/16
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
189 words
An image processing method for forming a mosaic image by combining a plurality of material images, comprising the steps of: dividing an image, which is the basis of the mosaic image, into a plurality of areas; calculating an average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas into which the image has been divided in said dividing step; forming a mosaic image by calculating differences between the average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas and an average value of R, G, and B color components in each of the material images, and selecting and pasting a material image having a minimum difference to respective ones of the areas so as to form the mosaic image; and applying a pixel matrix having a size corresponding to the resolution of the mosaic image to joints between the material images and performing a filtering process on the mosaic image, wherein the filtering process is independently performed on each of R, G, and B color components of the joints of the material images.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
189 words
An image processing method for forming a mosaic image by combining a plurality of material images, comprising the steps of: dividing an image, which is the basis of the mosaic image, into a plurality of areas; calculating an average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas into which the image has been divided in said dividing step; forming a mosaic image by calculating differences between the average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas and an average value of R, G, and B color components in each of the material images, and selecting and pasting a material image having a minimum difference to respective ones of the areas so as to form the mosaic image; and applying a pixel matrix having a size corresponding to the resolution of the mosaic image to joints between the material images and performing a filtering process on the mosaic image, wherein the filtering process is independently performed on each of R, G, and B color components of the joints of the material images.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the filtering process includes applying a low-pass filter to each pixel of the mosaic image.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method according to claim 2 , wherein the low-pass filter is an edge softening filter.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the filtering process includes applying a low-pass filter to each pixel of a boundary portion of each area of the mosaic image.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method according to claim 4 , wherein the low-pass filter is a filter for averaging the density of pixels bracketing the boundary portion.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
50 words
An image processing method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of removing a border from each of the material images, wherein the average value of each of R, G, B color components is calculated for each of the material images in which the border has been removed.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
208 words
An image processing apparatus for forming a mosaic image by combining a plurality of material images, comprising: dividing means for dividing an image, which is the basis of the mosaic image, into a plurality of areas; calculation means for calculating an average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas into which the image has been divided by said dividing means; mosaic image forming means for calculating differences between the average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas and an average value of R, G, and B color components in each of the material images, and selecting a material image having a minimum difference to respective ones of the areas, and pasting the selected material image so as to form a mosaic image; and filtering means for applying a pixel matrix having a size corresponding to the resolution of the mosaic image to connecting portions of the material images and performing a filtering process on the mosaic image formed by said mosaic image forming means, wherein the filtering process is independently performed on each of R, G, and B color components of the connecting portions of the material images.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
208 words
An image processing apparatus for forming a mosaic image by combining a plurality of material images, comprising: dividing means for dividing an image, which is the basis of the mosaic image, into a plurality of areas; calculation means for calculating an average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas into which the image has been divided by said dividing means; mosaic image forming means for calculating differences between the average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas and an average value of R, G, and B color components in each of the material images, and selecting a material image having a minimum difference to respective ones of the areas, and pasting the selected material image so as to form a mosaic image; and filtering means for applying a pixel matrix having a size corresponding to the resolution of the mosaic image to connecting portions of the material images and performing a filtering process on the mosaic image formed by said mosaic image forming means, wherein the filtering process is independently performed on each of R, G, and B color components of the connecting portions of the material images.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said filtering means applies a low-pass filter to each pixel of the mosaic image.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the low-pass filter is an edge softening filter.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said filtering means applies a low-pass filter to each pixel of a boundary portion of each area of the mosaic image.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the low-pass filter is a filter for averaging the density of pixels bracketing the boundary portion.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
51 words
An image processing apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising removal means for removing a border from each of the material images, wherein the average value of each of R, G, and B color components is calculated for each of the material images in which the border has been removed.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
201 words
A computer-readable storage medium storing a program which implements an image processing method for forming a mosaic by combining a plurality of material images, said program comprising: code for dividing an image, which is the basis of the mosaic image, into a plurality of areas; code for calculating an average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the divided plurality of areas into which the image has been divided in said dividing step; code for calculating differences between the average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas and an average value of R, G, and B color components in each of the material images, and selecting and pasting a material image having a minimum difference to respective ones of the areas so as to form the mosaic image; and code for applying a pixel matrix having size corresponding to the resolution of the mosaic image to connecting portions of the material images and performing a filtering process on the mosaic image, wherein the filtering process is independently performed on each of R, G, and B color components of the connecting portions of the material images.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
201 words
A computer-readable storage medium storing a program which implements an image processing method for forming a mosaic by combining a plurality of material images, said program comprising: code for dividing an image, which is the basis of the mosaic image, into a plurality of areas; code for calculating an average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the divided plurality of areas into which the image has been divided in said dividing step; code for calculating differences between the average value of each of R, G, and B color components in each of the plurality of areas and an average value of R, G, and B color components in each of the material images, and selecting and pasting a material image having a minimum difference to respective ones of the areas so as to form the mosaic image; and code for applying a pixel matrix having size corresponding to the resolution of the mosaic image to connecting portions of the material images and performing a filtering process on the mosaic image, wherein the filtering process is independently performed on each of R, G, and B color components of the connecting portions of the material images.
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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) | 2007-04-20 | 2007-10-20 | 2008-04-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-04-20 | 2011-10-20 | 2012-04-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-04-20 | 2015-10-20 | 2016-04-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |