Variable Threshold Edge Emphasis for Focused Image Areas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing techniques struggle to effectively display focused areas in images with many edges, leading to a cluttered and difficult-to-see image, while images with low contrast struggle to emphasize edges adequately.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus that includes a focused area judgment unit, a distribution information generation unit, a threshold value setting unit, and a display data generation unit, which generates and sets a variable threshold value based on edge evaluation distribution within the focused area, ensuring emphasis is only applied to the focused area, adjusting emphasis effect according to image state and luminance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a fixed threshold value is used for selecting emphasis display portions, then the edge emphasis display can be implemented, but the number of emphasis display portions becomes too large in images with many edges, resulting in a difficult-to-see image
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the threshold value variable rather than fixed. The threshold is dynamically adjusted based on the distribution of edge evaluation values within the focused area, allowing the system to adapt to different image contents and maintain optimal emphasis display without excessive highlighted portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of threshold value from a fixed constant to a variable determined by statistical distribution analysis. By calculating the threshold based on the distribution of edge evaluation values (e.g., using percentile-based methods), the system optimizes the balance between detecting sufficient edges and maintaining image visibility.
2Device complexity
If a fixed threshold value is used for selecting emphasis display portions, then the system structure remains simple, but in images with low contrast, edges are hardly emphasized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adjusts the threshold parameter dynamically based on the statistical distribution of edge evaluation values in the focused area. This allows the system to maintain effective edge emphasis across varying image conditions (high contrast, low contrast, many edges, few edges) without requiring complex multi-parameter control systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the threshold value is varied according to the entire image, then the adaptability to different image contents improves, but the threshold value becomes low in images with many defocused portions, causing emphasis display with slight edges and departing from the original purpose
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image processing by calculating the threshold value specifically for the focused area rather than for the entire image. By restricting the statistical analysis to only the focused area, the system maintains high adaptability to local image characteristics while preventing defocused portions from corrupting the threshold determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making the threshold determination local to the focused area. The edge evaluation value distribution and subsequent threshold calculation are performed exclusively on pixels within the focused area, ensuring that the emphasis display adapts to local image characteristics without being influenced by defocused regions.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an image processing apparatus including a focused area judgment unit that judges a focused area in target image data, a distribution information generation unit that generates distribution information of an edge evaluation value with the focused area judged by the focused area judgment unit as a target, a threshold value setting unit that variably sets a threshold value for judging an emphasis display portion using the distribution information generated by the distribution information generation unit, and a display data generation unit that selects an emphasis display portion in the image data using the threshold value set by the threshold value setting unit and generates display data for displaying the selected portion with emphasis.