Image Processing Circuit False Contouring Smoothing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional image processing methods require significant hardware resources to remove false contouring effects, leading to insufficient performance due to the need for large storage and computation, which limits the ability to completely smooth images effectively.

Innovation Solution

An image processing method that classifies pixel units into blocks, calculates average values, generates interpolated values, and blends them with raw values to create a modified image, reducing the need for extensive data retrieval and computation, thus optimizing hardware resource usage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If conventional low-pass filtering is used to smooth false contouring, then false contouring is reduced, but hardware resource consumption increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefalse contouring effectVSAvoidhardware resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The image is divided into multiple blocks, and processing is performed on each block independently. This segmentation allows the system to process only local regions that contain false contouring, rather than requiring global image processing with large storage buffers, thereby reducing hardware resource consumption while maintaining smoothing effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different processing strategies to different regions: blocks containing false contouring undergo smoothing processing, while other blocks are processed differently or skipped. This local quality approach ensures that resources are concentrated on problem areas rather than being wasted on entire images, reducing overall hardware requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Manufacturing precision

If large storage space is allocated for retrieving all pixel data, then smoothing performance is improved, but hardware cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesmoothing performanceVSAvoidstorage space

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

By dividing the image into blocks and processing them independently, the system only needs to store and retrieve data for current and adjacent blocks rather than the entire image. This segmentation dramatically reduces the storage space requirement from O(N×M) for full image to O(k×l) for small blocks, while maintaining smoothing quality in processed regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs block classification and identifies false contouring blocks before detailed processing. This preliminary action allows the system to prepare only the necessary data for blocks that require smoothing, avoiding the need to load and store all pixel data in advance, thus reducing storage requirements while ensuring smoothing performance where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Device complexity

If the processed region is reduced to save hardware resources, then hardware cost decreases, but smoothing effectiveness is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehardware resource usageVSAvoidsmoothing effectiveness

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent dynamically adjusts the processing region based on detected false contouring locations. Instead of using a fixed large processing area or a uniformly small area, the system expands processing only to the extent necessary to cover detected false contouring blocks and their neighbors, optimizing the balance between hardware resource usage and smoothing effectiveness for each specific image.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs false contouring detection as a feedback step before processing. This feedback mechanism identifies exactly which blocks require smoothing, allowing the system to concentrate hardware resources on those specific regions rather than processing the entire image uniformly, thus achieving effective smoothing with reduced resource consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11501416B2Image processing method and image processing circuit capable of smoothing false contouring without using low-pass filtering

Publication Date: 2022.11.15 REALTEK SEMICON CORP

AI summary

An image processing method includes: receiving specific data of an image component of input image for a specific color encoding channel wherein the specific data of the image component is formed by the image component's multiple raw values having identical image characteristics; spatially classifying pixel units within the input image into a plurality of blocks according to a specific block size; for each block, obtaining values of the image component of pixel units within each block to calculate the average value of the image component of the each block; generating interpolated values of the image component of an interpolated image according to values of the image component corresponding to the plurality of blocks; and, blending the interpolated values of the image component of the interpolated image with original/raw values of the image component of the input image to generate an output image having modified values of the image component.