Image encoding/decoding device

Claim 2

An image decoding method comprising: inputting at least a contour encoded data which is subjected to a contour encoding as an information showing that pixels having different values exist in a certain block among such blocks each having a plurality of pixels and being made by dividing an image, and an encoded data which is made by encoding a pixel pattern in said block which is subjected to the contour encoding ; dividing an image to be decoded into said blocks; decoding said inputted contour encoded data , thereby to identifying a block where pixels having different values mingle, among said divided blocks ; and decoding the encoded data of the pixel pattern in said identified block.

Claim 3

An image encoding device comprising: a dividing means for dividing an image into blocks containing a plurality of pixels; an extracting means for extracting a block where pixels with different values mingles in the same block, among said divided respective blocks; a contour encoding means for obtaining a positional information for identifying the position on said image ,of said extracted block and to subject the positional information to a contour encoding; and a waveform encoding means for subjecting a pixel pattern in the block to be subjected to said contour encoding to the waveform encoding.

Claim 4

An image-decoding device comprising: an input means for inputting at least a contour encoded data which is subjected to a contour encoding as an information showing that pixels having different values exist in a certain block among such blocks each having a plurality of pixels and being made by dividing an image, and an encoded data which is made by encoding a pixel pattern in said block which is subjected to the contour encoding ; a dividing means for dividing image to be decoded into said blocks; an identifying means for decoding said inputted contour encoded data , thereby to identifying a block where pixels having different values mingle, among said divided blocks ; and a decoding means for decoding the encoded data of the pixel pattern in said identified block.

Claim 5

An image encoding method comprising: forming a code book by subjecting respective pixel values of pixel patterns obtained by dividing an image into regions containing a plurality of pixels , to a quantization patterning so that pixel values thereof are quantized more finely, subjecting respective pixel values of a pixel pattern in an image to be encoded to a quantization patterning so that pixel values thereof are quantized more finely, comparing the quantization-patterned one and said code book, and selecting an approximate quantization pattern among the code book, and transmitting at least an index information corresponding to the selected quantization pattern.

Claim 6

An image-decoding method wherein when a code book is formed by subjecting respective pixel values of pixel patterns obtained by dividing a predetermined image into regions containing a plurality of pixels ,to the quantization patterning so that pixel values thereof are quantized more finely, respective pixel values of the pixel pattern in an image to be encoded are subjected to a quantization patterning so that pixel values thereof are quantized more finely, the quantization-patterned one and said code book are compared, and an approximate quantization pattern is selected among the code book, and at least the index information corresponding to the selected quantization pattern is transmitted, the method comprises: inputting the transmitted index information; examining a code book substantially identical with said code book and reading out a quantization pattern corresponding to said input index information; and decoding an image to be decoded as an image in which the pixel values are quantized more finely than said predetermined image, using the read out quantization pattern.

Claim 7

An image encoding device comprising: a code book formed by subjecting respective pixel values of pixel patterns obtained by dividing an image into regions containing a plurality of pixels , to a quantization patterning so that pixel values thereof are quantized more finely, a quantization patterning means for subjecting respective pixel values of a pixel pattern in an image to be encoded to a quantization patterning so that pixel values thereof are quantized more finely, a selecting means for comparing the quantization-patterned one and said code book, and selecting an approximate quantization pattern among the code book, and a transmission means for transmitting at least an index information corresponding to the selected quantization pattern.

Claim 8

An image-decoding device wherein when a code book is formed by subjecting respective pixel values of pixel patterns obtained by dividing a predetermined image into regions containing a plurality of pixels ,to the quantization patterning so that pixel values thereof are quantized more finely, respective pixel values of the pixel pattern in an image to be encoded are subjected to a quantization patterning so that pixel values thereof are quantized more finely, the quantization-patterned one and said code book are compared, and an approximate quantization pattern is selected among the code book, and at least the index information corresponding to the selected quantization pattern is transmitted, the device comprises: an inputting means for inputting the transmitted index information; a code book substantially identical with said code book; a reading means for examining the code book substantially identical with said code book and read out a quantization pattern corresponding to said input index information; and a decoding means for decoding the image to be decoded as the image in which the pixel values are quantized more finely than said image to be encoded, using the read-out quantization pattern.

Claim 9

An image processing method, wherein when a pattern of pixel value forming an image is complex, a degree of smoothing applied to the pixel value is made stronger than a case when the pattern is simpler, and when a pattern is simple, the degree of smoothing applied to the pixel value is made weaker than a case when the pattern is more complex.

Claim 10

An image processing method according to claim 9, wherein whether the pattern of the pixel value forming the image is complex or simple is evaluated by differential values in a horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions of said pixel value.

Claim 11

An image processing device comprising: an evaluating means for evaluating whether a pattern of pixel value forming an image is complex or simple; and a smoothing means which makes a degree of smoothing applied to the pixel value stronger than a case where the pattern is simpler, when it is evaluated that said pattern is complex by said evaluating means, and makes a degree of smoothing applied to a pixel value weaker than a case where the pattern is more complex, when it is evaluated that said pattern is simple by said evaluating means.

Claim 12

An image processing device according to claim 11, wherein said evaluating means evaluates whether said pattern is complex or simple by differential values in a horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions of said pixel value.

Claim 13

An image encoding device, comprising a predicting means for predicting an image of a luminance and an opacity for an image which is a subject to be encoded, by using a correspondence between partial regions from a reference image composed of a luminance and an opacity and an inputted image series composed of a luminance and an opacity of a substance, a prediction coding means for encoding the correspondence between the partial regions in said predicting means as a prediction code, an error operational means which determines a difference of the luminance and the opacity between said predicted image and said image to be encoded , as the error image, and an error coding means for encoding said error image as an error image code, and wherein said image series are transmitted as the error image code and the prediction code with respect to said reference image.

Claim 14

An image decoding device for holding the same reference image as that of the image encoding device according to claim 13 and decoding an output of said image encoding device, which has ; a prediction code decoding means for decoding the correspondence between the partial regions from the prediction code, a predicted image formation means for forming a predicted image from the reference image, by using the decoded correspondence between said partial regions, an error image decoding means for decoding the error image from the error image code, and an adding means for adding said predicted image and said error image to obtain the image comprising the luminance and the opacity, wherein an image composed of the luminance and an opacity is decoded as the output of said predicted image formation means or said adding means.

Claim 15

An image encoding device comprising a superposing means which inputs an image composed of a luminance and an opacity of a substance, classifies a region of the image into a transparent region and an opaque region, and forms a luminance image which is superposed with a luminance information and an opacity information in a manner that a luminance value of the substance is for the opaque region and a value outside the range of the luminance value is for the transparent region , wherein the luminance image superposed with said informations of the luminance and the opacity is encoded.

Claim 16

An image decoding device for decoding the output of the image encoding device of claim 15, which has a dividing means for dividing the luminance image into the opacity image and the luminance image by making a transparent region when the luminance value is a value outside the range, and making a luminance value when it is a value inside the range , wherein the luminance image of the luminance and the opacity is decoded.

Claim 17

An image encoding device wherein when an original image is layer by a front and back relation on an axis of eyes and an opacity of a region as well as a luminance, the device comprises; a layer image encoding means for inputting a plurality of such layer images and encoding the luminance and the opacity as a layer image code for every layer image, and a layer image decoding means for obtaining decoded layer image from an output of said layer image encoding means, a synthesizing means for synthesizing said decoded plural layer image by the front and back relation, the luminance and the opacity thereof, and an error image encoding means for determine an error image between said original image and said synthesized image and encoding the error image, and said original image are transmitted as the plurality of layer image codes and the error code between the original image and the synthesized image.

Claim 18

An image decoding device for decoding the output of the image encoding device of claim 17, which has a layer image decoding means for decoding the layer image comprising the luminance, the opacity, and the front and back relation on the axis of eyes by using the plurality of layer image code, a synthesizing means for forming a synthesized image with said layer image, and an error image decoding means for decoding the error image from the error code, and decoding the image by adding the error image to said synthesized image.

Claim 19

An image encoding device comprising ; a reference image encoding means for preliminarily recording and transmitting a plurality of reference images, an approximating means of correspondence between images , which approximates a deviation of positions where a luminance is corresponding between an input image and said plurality of reference images, that is deformation ,as a polynomial function of image co-ordinates, and determines an approximation error, and a minimum distortion reference image-selecting means which determines a reference image having small approximation error among said plurality of reference images and outputs an identifier for the selected reference image and a coefficient of the polynomial function, and wherein a plurality of reference images are encoded by said reference image encoding means and the input image are transmitted as at least the identifier for said selected reference image and the coefficient of said polynomial function.

Claim 20

An image decoding device for decoding the output of the image encoding device of claim 19, which has a reference image decoding means for reconstructing a plurality of reference images in advance, a reference image-selecting means for selecting from said plurality of reference images a reference image corresponding to the identifier of the reference image , contained in the output , and a reference image-deforming means for determining the polynomial function of image co-ordinates on a basis of the coefficient of the polynomial function contained in the output and for deforming said selected reference image by said polynomial function, and wherein an image is decoded by using the reference image deformed by said reference image-deforming means.

Claim 21

A motion vector-detecting device comprising; a superposing means which inputs a plurality of images composed of a luminance and an opacity of a substance, subjects the opacity to the addition/multiplication of a predetermined value to transform a value range, and forms the luminance image superposed with informations of the luminance and the opacity by adding the transformed value to the luminance, and an image analyzing means for obtaining a correspondence of the partial regions of two images by a correlation of a luminance, and wherein the image composed of the luminance and the opacity is transformed to the image composed only of the luminance by said superposing means, and a correspondence of the partial regions is obtained using said image analyzing means between the transformed plural images.

Claim 22

A motion vector-detecting device for expressing a motion vector at an optional position on a screen as a polynomial of image co-ordinates, which has an error calculating means for calculating a correspondence of the partial regions of two different images as an error, with respect to a plurality of partial regions obtained by dividing an image, and for determining a deviation between said partial regions which becomes the minimum error and the error value in a vicinity thereof, an error function-calculating means for determining a quadratic error function which makes a deviation a variable from said deviation which becomes said minimum error and the error value in the vicinity thereof, and an optimizing means for expressing a sum total or a partial sum of said quadratic error function with a coefficient of a polynomial function as a variable, and minimizing this sum total of the partial sum with regard to the coefficient, and wherein the motion vector between different images are issued as the coefficient of the polynomial function.

Claim 23

An image encoding method comprising: predicting the input image from different images, expressing a region with a large prediction error as a pattern information by the threshold processing of the prediction error, subjecting said pattern information to the morphology processing in which the region is dilated after being eroded and the equivalent processing to form a mask pattern, and performing the encoding of the predicted error image based on said mask pattern.

Claim 24

An image encoding device comprising: a means for predicting an input image from different images, a threshold processing means for expressing a region with a large prediction error as a pattern information, a morphology means for subjecting said pattern information to an equivalent processing to a morphology processing in which a region is dilated after being eroded , thereby to form a mask pattern, and a waveform encoding means for performing encoding for the predicted error image on the basis of said mask pattern.