Patent US8463038B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US8463038B2
Active / In Force
US
⏱️ 3.6 years remaining
Image processing apparatus and method for correcting an image based upon features of the image
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 2010-06-25
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Granted: 2013-06-11
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Expires: 2030-06-25
Abstract
Abstract An image processing apparatus includes a division unit configured to divide an image into a plurality of areas, a calculation unit configured to calculate a feature amount for each division area, an area category determination unit configured to determine for each division area at least a night scene category or an under-exposure category based on the calculated feature amount, an entire category determination unit configured to determine a category of the entire image based on the result of category determination, and a processing unit configured to perform correction processing on the image based on the result of category determination by the entire category determination unit.
Inventors
- 👤 Hiroyuki Sakai
- 👤 Kiyoshi Umeda
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 13:52
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06V; G06V20/00; G06V20/10; G06T; G06T5/00; G06T5/40; G06T5/90; G06T5/94; H; H04; H04N; H04N23/00; H04N23/80; H04N23/81; H04N23/82; H04N23/83; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/10; G06T2207/10024; G06T2207/20; G06T2207/20004; G06T2207/20012; G06T2207/20021; H04N2101/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
100 words
An image processing apparatus comprising: a division unit configured to divide an image into a plurality of areas; a calculation unit configured to calculate a feature amount for each area; an area category determination unit configured to determine a category for each area based on the calculated feature amount; an image category determination unit configured to determine a category of the image based on the result of category determination by the area category determination unit; and a processing unit configured to perform correction processing on the image based on the result of category determination by the image category determination unit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
100 words
An image processing apparatus comprising: a division unit configured to divide an image into a plurality of areas; a calculation unit configured to calculate a feature amount for each area; an area category determination unit configured to determine a category for each area based on the calculated feature amount; an image category determination unit configured to determine a category of the image based on the result of category determination by the area category determination unit; and a processing unit configured to perform correction processing on the image based on the result of category determination by the image category determination unit.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
39 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image category determination unit determines the category of the image based on the category determined by the area category determination unit and category reliability determined for each area.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
60 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein an under-exposure rate of the image is calculated based on the category determined by the area category determination unit and the determined category reliability of each category, and an amount of brightness correction for the image is calculated based on the calculated under-exposure rate and the category in the image.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
67 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein an under-exposure rate of the image is calculated based on the category determined by the area category determination unit and an occupancy rate of the category determined for each area in the image, and wherein the amount of brightness correction for the image is calculated based on the calculated under-exposure rate and the categories of the image.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
73 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the area category determination unit includes a unit configured to calculate category reliability for each area, and wherein the image category determination unit determines one or two categories which have a highest reliability in each of the categories in the image as the image categories based on the result of category determination for each area and the category reliability calculated for each area.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the reliability of each of the categories in the image is calculated based on a value of totalizing the calculated category reliability of each area on a category basis.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
66 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein, when the two categories which have the highest reliability in each of the categories in the image are defined as first and second categories, the amount of brightness correction for the image is calculated based on a combination of the first and second categories and on the reliability of each of the first and second categories.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
66 words
The image processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein, in a case where the first category is determined as a night scene and the second category is determined as an under-exposure, the amount of brightness correction for the image is made smaller than that in a case where the first category is determined as the night scene and the second category is determined as a landscape.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
66 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein, when the two categories which have the largest occupancy rate in the image are defined as first and second categories, the amount of brightness correction for the image is calculated based on a combination of the first and second categories and on an occupancy rate of each of the first and second categories in the image.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
46 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image category determination unit determines the category in the image based on the category determined by the area category determination unit and an occupancy rate of the category determined for each area in the image.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
46 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image category determination unit determines one or two categories which have a largest occupancy rate in the image as the image categories based on the result of category determination by the area category determination unit.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
25 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the feature amount includes a brightness component and a color variation component of the image.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the brightness component is luminance, and the color variation component is chrominance.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the correction processing includes correction processing concerning brightness.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
The image processing apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the correction processing concerning brightness includes a dodging process.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for processing an image, comprising: dividing an image into a plurality of areas; calculating a feature amount for each area; determining a category for each area based on the calculated feature amount; determining a category of the image based on the result of determining a category for each area; and performing correction processing for the image based on the result of determining a category of the image.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for processing an image, comprising: dividing an image into a plurality of areas; calculating a feature amount for each area; determining a category for each area based on the calculated feature amount; determining a category of the image based on the result of determining a category for each area; and performing correction processing for the image based on the result of determining a category of the image.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
91 words
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by a computer, causes an image processing apparatus to perform a method for processing an image, the method comprising: dividing an image into a plurality of areas; calculating a feature amount for each area; determining a category for each area based on the calculated feature amount; determining a category of the image based on the result of determining a category for each area; and performing correction processing for the image based on the result of determining a category of the image.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
91 words
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by a computer, causes an image processing apparatus to perform a method for processing an image, the method comprising: dividing an image into a plurality of areas; calculating a feature amount for each area; determining a category for each area based on the calculated feature amount; determining a category of the image based on the result of determining a category for each area; and performing correction processing for the image based on the result of determining a category of the image.
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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) | 2016-06-10 | 2016-12-10 | 2017-06-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2020-06-10 | 2020-12-10 | 2021-06-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2024-06-10 | 2024-12-10 | 2025-06-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |