Method and apparatus for image enhancement
AssigneeAT&T Corp.
InventorDavid J. Ittner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for enhancing images for facsimile machines, printers, etc., is provided. An independent training phase is used to train a system processor to create a probability table based on the surrounding pixel pattern of a given pixel in a training document. The training data generated is used in an enhancement phase where unknown pixels are determined based on the probability table generated during the training phase.
Claims23
A method for enhancing an image having a first resolution into an image having a second resolution higher than the first resolution, the method comprising the steps of:
- training a processor to recognize pixel patterns surrounding selected pixels of a training image having only the second resolution, the training step including creating a probability table for the selected pixels based upon surrounding pixel patterns of the selected pixels;
- receiving the image having the first resolution;
- adding pixels of unknown value between existing pixels of the received image;
- determining a pixel value for each of the pixels having the unknown value based on the probability table;
- and
- producing an image having the second resolution based on the determined pixel values.
An apparatus for enhancing an image having a first resolution into an image having a second resolution higher than the first resolution, the apparatus comprising:
- training means for recognizing pixel patterns surrounding selected pixels of a training image having only the second resolution, and for creating a probability table for the selected pixels based on pixel patterns surrounding the selected pixels of the training image;
- receiving means for receiving the image having the first resolution;
- image processing means for adding pixels of unknown value between existing pixels of the received image, and for determining a pixel value for each of the pixels having the unknown value based on the probability table;
- and
- image producing means for producing an image having the second resolution based on the determined pixel values.
A method for enhancing an image having a first resolution into an image having a second resolution higher than the first resolution, the method comprising the steps of:
- training a processor to recognize pixel patterns surrounding selected pixels of a training image having only the second resolution, the training step including creating a probability table for the selected pixels based upon surrounding pixel patterns of the selected pixels and indexing the probability table according to each of the pixel patterns;
- receiving the image having the first resolution;
- adding pixels of unknown value between existing pixels of the received image;
- determining a pixel value for each of the pixels having the unknown value based on the probability table;
- producing an image having the second resolution based on the determined pixel values;
- and
- wherein an intermediate representation of the product image is a probabilistic image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.