Image analysis – Color image processing – Color correction
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-08
2003-12-09
Wu, Jingge (Department: 2623)
Image analysis
Color image processing
Color correction
C358S518000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06661916
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image processing method, and more particularly, to an image processing method for smoothing the boundary of an image area.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to
FIGS. 1 and 2
.
FIG. 1
is a functional block diagram of a prior art image processing system
10
.
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of a picture image
14
in the image processing system
10
. The image processing system
10
comprises a memory
12
for storing programs and a picture image
14
, and a processor
16
for executing the programs stored in the memory
12
. The picture image
14
comprises a plurality of pixels
18
arranged in a matrix shape. Each of the pixels
18
comprises red, green and blue parameters. The pixels
18
with similar parameters form at least one image area
20
.
The purpose of performing an image processing method is to adjust the color of the image area
20
as well as to blend its boundary with the rest of the picture image
14
. The image processing method is performed by adjusting red, green and blue parameters of each pixel in the image area
20
according to a predetermined color adjusting method, and then adjusting red, green and blue parameters of each pixel
18
in the picture image
14
according to an image blending method such as a lowpass filtering method or a median filtering method.
However, applying the image blending method throughout the picture image
14
is quite redundant because the purpose of applying the image blending method is only to smooth the boundary of the image area
20
. Furthermore, although applying the image blending method can smooth the boundary of the image area
20
, it will sacrifice the clarity of images outside the image area
20
. In this case, the clarity of the whole picture image
14
is sacrificed since the image blending method is applied throughout the picture image
14
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide an image processing method to solve the above mentioned problems.
Briefly, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides an image processing method of an image processing system. The image processing system has a memory for storing programs and a picture image, and a processor for executing the programs stored in the memory. The picture image has a plurality of pixels. The method has three steps. The first step is to find at least one image area with a predetermined characteristic from the picture image according to a predetermined image area detecting method. The second step is to define a boundary area around the image area according to a predetermined boundary area defining method. The third step is to adjust pixels inside the image area according to a predetermined color adjusting method, and adjust pixels inside the boundary area according to a different but similar color adjusting method so that the color adjustment can be extended from the image area to the boundary area.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the second color adjusting method is only applied to the boundary area so that the image not within the boundary area of the image area will be retained.
These and other objects and the advantages of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, as illustrated by the included figures and drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5335097 (1994-08-01), Murakami
patent: 5867285 (1999-02-01), Hirota et al.
patent: 6016354 (2000-01-01), Lin et al.
patent: 6323959 (2001-11-01), Toyama et al.
patent: 6549200 (2003-04-01), Mortlock et al.
Chien Hsu-Chu
Lin Yuan-Guan
Tang Chien-Hsing
Yang Po-Chin
BenQ Corporation
Hsu Winston
Wu Jingge
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