Patent US7786573B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent US6807300B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6807300B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Noise reduction method utilizing color information, apparatus, and program for digital image processing
Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures LLC
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Filing: 2000-07-20
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Granted: 2004-10-19
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Expires: 2020-07-20
Abstract
Abstract A digital image processing method for reducing the noise of a color digital image having pixel values, includes the steps of: identifying one or more color regions in color space; identifying a pixel of interest in the color digital image; calculating a color weighting factor for the pixel of interest; using the color weighting factor and the values of pixels sampled from a local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest to calculate a noise reduced pixel value; replacing the original value of the pixel of interest with the noise reduced pixel value; and repeating the steps for other pixels in the digital image.
Inventors
- 👤 Edward B. Gindele
- 👤 Andrew Gallagher
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 11:01
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T5/00; G06T5/70; G06T5/20; H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/40; H04N1/409; H04N1/46; H04N1/56; H04N1/58; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/10; G06T2207/10024
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 63
Claim 1
Independent Claim
157 words
A digital image processing method for enhancing a color digital image having pixel values, comprising the steps of: a) identifying a pixel of interest in the color digital image; b) using pixels from the color digital image to calculate a color weighting factor for the pixel of interest, including the steps of: (i) identifying one or more color regions in color space; (ii) calculating a pixel color coordinate in color space for the pixel of interest; and (iii) calculating the color weighting factor with the pixel color coordinate and the color regions; c) identifying a local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest; d) using the color weighting factor and the values of pixels sampled from the local neighborhood to calculate a noise reduced pixel value; e) replacing the value of the pixel of interest with the noise reduced pixel value; and f) repeating steps (a) through (e) for other pixels in the color digital image.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
157 words
A digital image processing method for enhancing a color digital image having pixel values, comprising the steps of: a) identifying a pixel of interest in the color digital image; b) using pixels from the color digital image to calculate a color weighting factor for the pixel of interest, including the steps of: (i) identifying one or more color regions in color space; (ii) calculating a pixel color coordinate in color space for the pixel of interest; and (iii) calculating the color weighting factor with the pixel color coordinate and the color regions; c) identifying a local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest; d) using the color weighting factor and the values of pixels sampled from the local neighborhood to calculate a noise reduced pixel value; e) replacing the value of the pixel of interest with the noise reduced pixel value; and f) repeating steps (a) through (e) for other pixels in the color digital image.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein step d) further comprises the step of calculating differences of pixel values sampled from the local neighborhood and using the differences of pixels values and the color weighting factor to calculate a noise reduced pixel value.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method claimed in claim 2 wherein step d) further comprises the step of comparing the differences of pixel values with a threshold parameter and using the color weighting factor to vary the value of the threshold parameter.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method claimed in claim 3 wherein step d) further comprises the step of varying the threshold parameter as a function of an expected noise level.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method claimed in claim 4 wherein the expected noise level is signal dependent.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein step (d) further comprises the step of using the color weighting factor to vary the size of the local neighborhood.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method claimed in claim 6 , wherein the noise reduced pixel value is derived from a statistical quantity of the pixel values sampled from a local neighborhood.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method claimed in claim 7 , wherein the statistical quantity is a mean, median, minimum, or maximum.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
65 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein step (c) further comprises the step of: calculating a neighborhood color value derived from the values of pixels sampled from the local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest, and calculating color distance value(s) from the neighborhood color value to the identified color region(s); and using the color distance values to calculate the color weighting factor.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method claimed in claim 9 , wherein the neighborhood color value is derived only from the pixel of interest.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method claimed in claim 9 , wherein the color weighting factor is calculated as a Gaussian function of the color distance values.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method claimed in claim 11 , wherein the color weighting factor is calculated using a Gaussian function of the color distance values for each identified color region.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method claimed in claim 12 , wherein the Gaussian functions are combined in an additive manner to calculate the color weighting factor.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method claimed in claim 12 , wherein the Gaussian functions are combined in a multiplicative manner to calculate the color weighting factor.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the steps of calculating color difference values for the pixels in the color digital image and calculating the color weighting factors from the color difference values.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein the color weighting factor causes more noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer in color to one of the identified color regions.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein the color weighting factor causes less noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer in color to one of the identified color regions.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein one of the identified color regions is the color of sky.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein one of the identified color regions is the color of grass.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein one of the identified color regions is the color of skin.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method claimed in claim 15 , wherein the color digital image has red, green, and blue digital image channels, and further comprising the steps of calculating color difference values as linear combinations of the red, green, and blue digital image channels, and identifying the color regions and calculating the color weighing factors in color difference space.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method claimed in claim 15 , further comprising the steps of calculating color difference values as CIELAB a* and b* components, and identifying the color regions and calculating the color weighing factors in color difference space.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method claimed in claim 15 , further comprising the steps of calculating color difference values as CIE C* and H* components, and identifying the color regions and calculating the color weighing factors in color difference space.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method claimed in claim 15 , further comprising the step of applying a spatial filter to the color difference values.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method claimed in claim 15 , wherein the color difference values are a different color space representation from that of the pixels sampled from the local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest used to calculate a noise reduced pixel value.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein a pixel difference filter is employed to calculate the noise reduced pixel.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method claimed in claim 26 , wherein the pixel difference filter is a sigma filter.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
18 words
A computer program product embodied in a computer readable medium for performing the steps of claim 1 .
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
174 words
A digital image processing apparatus for enhancing a color digital image having pixel values, comprising: a) means for identifying a pixel of interest in the color digital image; b) means for identifying a local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest; c) means for using the values of pixels sampled from the local neighborhood to calculate a color weighting factor for the pixel of interest, and further comprising: (i) means for identifying one or more color regions in color space; (ii) means for calculating a pixel color coordinate in color space for the pixel of interest; and (iii) means for calculating a color weighting factor with the pixel color coordinate and the color regions; d) means for using the color weighting factor and the values of pixels sampled from the local neighborhood to calculate a noise reduced pixel value; e) means for replacing the value of the pixel of interest with the noise reduced pixel value; and f) means for repeating steps (a) through (e) for other pixels in the color digital image.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
174 words
A digital image processing apparatus for enhancing a color digital image having pixel values, comprising: a) means for identifying a pixel of interest in the color digital image; b) means for identifying a local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest; c) means for using the values of pixels sampled from the local neighborhood to calculate a color weighting factor for the pixel of interest, and further comprising: (i) means for identifying one or more color regions in color space; (ii) means for calculating a pixel color coordinate in color space for the pixel of interest; and (iii) means for calculating a color weighting factor with the pixel color coordinate and the color regions; d) means for using the color weighting factor and the values of pixels sampled from the local neighborhood to calculate a noise reduced pixel value; e) means for replacing the value of the pixel of interest with the noise reduced pixel value; and f) means for repeating steps (a) through (e) for other pixels in the color digital image.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
46 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , wherein the means of d) further comprises the means for calculating differences of pixel values sampled from the local neighborhood and using the differences of pixels values and the color weighting factor to calculate a noise reduced pixel value.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 30 , wherein the means of d) further comprises the means for comparing the differences of pixel values with a threshold parameter and means for using the color weighting factor to vary the value of the threshold parameter.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 31 , the means of d) further comprises the means for varying the threshold parameter as a function of an expected noise level.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 32 , the means of the expected noise level is also a function of the pixel values of the local neighborhood.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of (d) further comprises the means for using the color weighting factor to vary the size of the local neighborhood.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of (d) further comprises the means for using the color weighting factor to vary the size of the local neighborhood.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 34 , the means of the noise reduced pixel value is derived from a statistical quantity of the pixel values sampled from a local neighborhood.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 36 , the means of the statistical quantity is a mean, median, minimum, or maximum.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
65 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of (c) further comprises: calculating a neighborhood color value derived from the values of pixels sampled from the local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest, and means for calculating color distance value(s) from the neighborhood color value to the identified color region(s); and using the color distance values to calculate the color weighting factor.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 38 , the means of the neighborhood color value is derived only from the pixel of interest.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 38 , the means of the color weighting factor is calculated as a Gaussian function of the color distance values.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 40 , the means of the color weighting factor is calculated using a Gaussian function of the color distance values for each identified color region.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 41 , the means of the Gaussian functions are combined in an additive manner to calculate the color weighting factor.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 41 , the means of the Gaussian functions are combined in a multiplicative manner to calculate the color weighting factor.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
35 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , further comprising the means of calculating color difference values for the pixels in the color digital image and calculating the color weighting factors from the color difference values.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of the color weighting factor causes more noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer in color to one of the identified color regions.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of the color weighting factor causes less noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer in color to one of the identified color regions.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
53 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of the color weighting factor causes more noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer in color to one of the identified color regions, and less noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer to another one of the identified color regions.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 40 , the means of the color weighting factor causes more noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer in color to one of the identified color regions.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 40 , the means of the color weighting factor causes less noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer in color to one of the identified color regions.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
53 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 40 , the means of the color weighting factor causes more noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer in color to one of the identified color regions, and less noise reduction for pixels of interest that are closer to another one of the identified color regions.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of one of the identified color regions is the color of sky.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of one of the identified color regions is the color of grass.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of one of the identified color regions is the color of skin.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
61 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of the color digital image has red, green, and blue digital image channels, and further comprising the means for calculating color difference values as linear combinations of the red, green, and blue digital image channels, and means for identifying the color regions and calculating the color weighing factors in color difference space.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , further comprising the means of calculating color difference values as CIELAB a* and b* components, and identifying the color regions and calculating the color weighing factors in color difference space.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , further comprising the means of calculating color difference values as CIE C* and H* components, and identifying the color regions and calculating the color weighing factors in color difference space.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 44 , further comprising the means of applying a spatial filter to the color difference values.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 44 , the means of the color difference values are a different color space representation from that of the pixels sampled from the local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest used to calculate a noise reduced pixel value.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 29 , the means of a pixel difference filter is employed to calculate the noise reduced pixel.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 59 , the means of the pixel difference filter is a sigma filter.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus claimed in claim 59 , the means of (d) further comprises the means for using the color weighting factor to vary the size of the local neighborhood.
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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) | 2007-10-19 | 2008-04-19 | 2008-10-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-10-19 | 2012-04-19 | 2012-10-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-10-19 | 2016-04-19 | 2016-10-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |