Methods and Apparatuses for Restoring Color and Enhancing Electronic Images

A method to transform an electronic image, the method comprising:

• determining a plurality of averages of a color channel over a plurality of regions inside the image, which is stored in a computer readable storage medium, each region corresponding to a continuous portion of two dimensional space having a plurality of pixels of the image, and wherein each of the plurality of averages excludes one or more first pixels which are one of:
• substantially white or substantially black;
• determining, at a processor coupled to the computer readable storage medium, a target color of the color channel;
• and
• scaling, at the processor, color signals of the color channel for each pixel, in a second set of pixels, of the image according to the plurality of averages and the target color.

A data processing system to transform an electronic image, the data processing system comprising:

• means for determining a plurality of averages of a color channel over a plurality of regions inside the image, each region corresponding to a continuous portion of two dimensional space having a plurality of pixels of the image and wherein each of the plurality of averages excludes one or more first pixels which are either substantially black or substantially white;
• means for determining a target color for the color channel;
• and
• means for scaling color signals of the color channel for each pixel, in a second set of pixels, of the image according to the plurality of averages and the target color.

An image capturing device, comprising:

• an image sensing device that generates an electronic image;
• and
• a processing circuit coupled to the image sensing device, the processing circuit performing steps comprising:
• determining a plurality of averages of a color channel over a plurality of regions inside the image, each region corresponding to a continuous portion of two dimensional space having a plurality of pixels of the image, and wherein each of the plurality of averages excludes one or more first pixels which are either substantially white or substantially black;
• determining a target color for the color channel, and scale color signals of the color channel for each pixel, in a second set of pixels, of the image according to the plurality of averages and the target color.