Image Coding Group Code Amount Assignment for Bandwidth Optimization

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing image processing systems face challenges in efficiently managing varying data amounts during image compression, leading to insufficient or excessive data in fixed-length coding units, which restricts memory bus bandwidth and image quality.

Innovation Solution

An image processing apparatus that calculates and assigns appropriate code amounts to coding blocks within a coding group, ensuring a consistent total code amount across groups, allowing for fixed-length coding while adapting to varying image characteristics.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If fixed-length coding is used on coding blocks, then memory bus bandwidth is restricted and processing efficiency is reduced, but if variable-length coding is used, then data management becomes complex and consistency across coding groups cannot be maintained

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvememory bus bandwidthVSAvoidcoding structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The image is divided into multiple coding groups, each containing multiple coding blocks. This segmentation allows the system to apply fixed-length coding at the group level while maintaining manageable complexity through hierarchical organization. The code amount determination unit calculates and distributes code amounts within each group independently, enabling parallel processing and improved bandwidth utilization without overwhelming system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically determines code amounts for each coding block based on actual image characteristics and requirements. The code amount determination unit adjusts the code amount for each block within the coding group to match actual needs, then balances the total code amount across groups. This dynamic allocation improves processing efficiency and bandwidth utilization while maintaining overall consistency through the balancing mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If code amount is uniformly assigned to all coding blocks, then processing simplicity is maintained, but image quality deteriorates due to insufficient or excessive data in certain blocks

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecoding process simplicityVSAvoidimage quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different code amounts to different coding blocks within the same coding group based on their specific characteristics. The code amount determination unit evaluates each block's requirements and assigns appropriate code amounts, allowing important regions to receive more data while less critical regions receive fewer bits. This local optimization maintains overall process simplicity through automated determination while significantly improving image quality by matching data allocation to actual needs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Manufacturing precision

If code amount is dynamically adjusted for each coding block, then image quality is improved, but maintaining consistent total code amount across coding groups becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage qualityVSAvoidcode amount consistency
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The code amount determination unit implements a feedback mechanism by calculating the actual code amount used in each coding block and comparing it with the target code amount. Based on this feedback, the unit adjusts the code amounts of other blocks within the same coding group to ensure the total code amount remains consistent across all groups. This feedback loop enables dynamic adaptation to image characteristics while maintaining stable, consistent total code amounts across the entire image, thereby improving image quality without sacrificing composition stability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11503296B2Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
Publication Date: 2022.11.15 CANON KK
  • US11503296B2 patent drawing
  • US11503296B2 patent drawing
  • US11503296B2 patent drawing

AI summary

An image processing apparatus which calculates a code amount obtained upon coding a coding block being obtained by dividing an image to be processed, determines an assigned code amount to be assigned to each of the coding blocks, based on a reference code amount and the code amount calculated for each of coding blocks in a coding group including a plurality of coding blocks, and generates coded data by coding each of the coding blocks using the assigned code amount as a target code amount, wherein the assigned code amount is determined so that a total of the assigned code amounts of the coding blocks in the coding group is the same among a plurality of coding groups, and fixed-length coding is carried out on a coding group-by-coding group basis by coding using the determined assigned code amounts.