Image Storage Control with Blockwise Lossless Compression Switching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing data compression techniques for image data often fail to reduce data amounts effectively while maintaining lossless, degradation-free compression, as lossless compression may not necessarily decrease the data size and can even increase it.

Innovation Solution

A data storage controlling device that performs lossless compression by determining whether compression is possible in each region of an image, storing compressed data when possible and original data when not, using a compression unit that calculates pixel value differences and expresses them in fewer bits, and a storage unit that manages data storage accordingly.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If lossless compression is performed on image data, then data degradation is prevented, but data amount may not be reduced and can even increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata degradation preventionVSAvoiddata amount

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The image is divided into multiple blocks, and each block is independently evaluated for compressibility. This segmentation allows selective application of compression techniques only to suitable regions, preventing overall data expansion while maintaining lossless properties where applicable.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different processing approaches are applied to different regions based on their characteristics. Blocks with similar adjacent pixel values undergo lossless compression with reduced bit depth, while blocks with high variability retain full precision, optimizing the balance between data size and quality preservation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If lossless compression is applied to all regions, then data degradation-free storage is ensured, but storage efficiency is reduced due to increased data amount

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata degradation-free storageVSAvoidstorage efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of applying lossless compression uniformly to all image blocks, the method applies it only to blocks where adjacent pixel values are similar and can be represented with fewer bits. This partial application maintains data integrity where needed while improving overall storage efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The bit depth parameter is dynamically adjusted based on the local image characteristics. Blocks with low variability use reduced bit depth (e.g., 5 bits instead of 8 bits), while blocks with high variability maintain full bit depth, optimizing the trade-off between compression ratio and data fidelity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Quantity of substance

If compression is performed on regions with high pixel variability, then data amount is reduced, but lossless compression becomes impossible

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata amount reductionVSAvoidlossless compression feasibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Before performing compression, each block is pre-evaluated to determine whether lossless compression is feasible. Blocks with high pixel variability are identified in advance and excluded from compression, preventing data degradation while focusing compression resources on suitable regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

For blocks where lossless compression is not feasible, the original uncompressed data is preserved and stored. The system creates a copy of the original block and stores it without compression, ensuring that no data degradation occurs in regions where compression would be lossy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS9307244B2Data storage controlling device, data reading controlling device, and data storing method

Publication Date: 2016.04.05 MEGACHIPS

AI summary

A data storage controlling device has: a compression unit which performs lossless compression on each compression object region; determination means which determines whether or not the lossless compression is possible in each compression determination region including a plurality of compression object regions; and a storage control unit which performs storage control in each compression determination region in such a manner that data after the lossless compression in a compression determination region is stored as compressed data into a storage unit when it is determined that the lossless compression in each compression object region included in the certain compression determination region is possible, and image data before the lossless compression in the certain compression determination region is stored into the storage unit when it is determined that the lossless compression in each compression object region included in the certain compression determination region is impossible.