Method and apparatus for reproducing an image without salt and pepper specks
US5682250A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 20, 1994 |
| Grant date | Oct 28, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 20, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N1/409
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A computer implemented method of preventing the reproduction of specks while reproducing an image including specks represented via source scan lines. According to the method, on a scan like-by-scan line basis, each source scan line signal is transformed into speckless output run lengths. A source run length is selected and examined by a processor to determine whether it represents part of a speck. If the selected source run length might represent a speck, the processor determines whether the selected source run length can be protected from removal. If it cannot, the length of the selected run length and its subsequent neighbor are added to the output run length. As a result, the speck represented by the selected run length disappears from the image by merger with adjacent source run lengths. On the other hand, if the selected source run length is protected from removal, an output run length is output that represents source run length(s) previous to the selected source run length. A new output run length is then defined whose length and color are the same as the selected source run length. Afterward, another source run length is designated as the selected source run length.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.