IP Library Patent Application 11522418
Patent Application
App. No. 11/522,418

Method and apparatus for improving image quality

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US None
App. No.
11/522,418
Abstract

A method (and apparatus) of improving an image quality of a video signal which is supplied on a frame-by-frame basis, includes extracting high frequency components associated with a video signal of an n-th frame (where n is a natural number), and adding the extracted high frequency components to a video signal of an (n+m)th frame (where m is a natural number).

Claims (49)

1 . A method of improving an image quality of a video signal which is supplied on a frame-by-frame basis, comprising:

extracting high frequency components associated with a video signal of an n-th frame, where n is a natural number; and

adding the extracted high frequency components to a video signal of an (n+m)th frame, where m is a natural number.

2 . The image quality improving method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

extracting low frequency components from the video signal of the n-th frame; and

subtracting the extracted low frequency components from the video signal of the (n+m)th frame to produce the high frequency components.

3 . The image quality improving method according to claim 2 , further comprising:

extracting the low frequency components from the video signal of the n-th frame in at least one of a horizontal direction of an image displayed by the video signal, and a vertical direction of an image displayed by the video signal.

4 . The image quality improving method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

extracting low frequency components from the video signal of the n-th frame; and

subtracting the extracted low frequency components from the video signal of the n-th frame to produce the high frequency components.

5 . The image quality improving method according to claim 4 , further comprising:

extracting the low frequency components from the video signal of the n-th frame in at least one of a horizontal direction of an image displayed by the video signal, and a vertical direction of an image displayed by the video signal.

6 . An apparatus for improving an image quality of an input video signal which is supplied on a frame-by-frame basis, comprising:

a high frequency component extractor that extracts high frequency components associated with a video signal of an n-th frame, where n is a natural number; and

an adder that adds the high frequency components extracted by said high frequency component extractor to a video signal of an (n+m)th frame, where m is a natural number.

7 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein said high frequency component extractor comprises:

a low frequency component extractor that extracts low frequency components from the video signal of the n-th frame; and

a subtractor that subtracts the low frequency components extracted by said low frequency component extractor from the input video signal to extract the high frequency components.

8 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said subtractor subtracts the low frequency components extracted by said low frequency component extractor from the video signal of the (n+m)th frame to extract the high frequency components.

9 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein said low frequency component extractor comprises:

a frame memory to delay the input video signal supplied on a frame-by-frame basis in units of frames; and

a low-pass filter that extracts low frequency components from the video signal delayed by said frame memory.

10 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein said low-pass filter extracts the low frequency components from the video signal delayed by said frame memory in at least one of a horizontal direction of an image displayed by the video signal, and a vertical direction of an image displayed by the video signal.

11 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein said low frequency component extractor comprises:

a horizontal low-pass filter that extracts low frequency components of the input video signal supplied on a frame-by-frame basis in a horizontal direction of an image displayed by the video signal;

a down-sampler that reduces the number of samples in a video signal that has the low frequency components in the horizontal direction that have been extracted by said horizontal low-pass filter;

a frame memory to delay the video signal down-sampled by said down-sampler in units of frames;

a vertical low-pass filter that extracts low frequency components from the video signal delayed by said frame memory in a vertical direction of the displayed image; and

an up-sampler that returns the number of samples in a video signal that has the low frequency components in the vertical direction that have been extracted by said vertical low-pass filter to the original number of samples.

12 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein said low frequency component extractor comprises:

a first infinite impulse response (IIR) filter that extracts low frequency components from the input video signal supplied on a frame-by-frame basis in at least one of a horizontal direction of the input video signal, and a vertical direction of the input video signal;

a first frame inverter that inverts a time-axis of a video signal that has the low frequency components that have been extracted by said first IIR filter;

a second IIR filter that extracts low frequency components from the video signal, the time-axis of which has been inverted by said first frame inverter, in at least one of a horizontal direction of the video signal, and a vertical direction of the video signal; and

a second frame inverter that inverts the time-axis of a video signal that has the low frequency components that have been extracted by said second IIR filter.

13 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said subtractor subtracts the low frequency components extracted by said low frequency component extractor from the video signal of the n-th frame to extract the high frequency components.

14 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein said low frequency component extractor extracts the low frequency components from the video signal of the n-th frame in at least one of a horizontal direction of an image displayed by the video signal, and a vertical direction of an image displayed by the video signal.

15 . The image quality improving apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising:

a multiplier that adjusts the amplitude of a high frequency component signal supplied from said high frequency component extractor.

16 . A display apparatus comprising:

the image quality improving apparatus according to claim 6;

a display device; and

a driving circuit that drives said display device based on a video signal supplied from said image quality improving apparatus.

17 . A method of improving an image quality of a video signal which is supplied on a frame-by-frame basis, comprising the steps of:

a step for extracting high frequency components associated with a video signal of an n-th frame, where n is a natural number; and

a step for adding the extracted high frequency components to a video signal of an (n+m)th frame, where m is a natural number.

18 . An apparatus for improving an image quality of an input video signal which is supplied on a frame-by-frame basis, comprising:

means for extracting high frequency components associated with a video signal of an n-th frame, where n is a natural number; and

means for adding the high frequency components extracted by said high frequency component extractor to a video signal of an (n+m)th frame, where m is a natural number.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 28, 2015
From: NEC VIEWTECHNOLOGY, LTD.
To: NEC DISPLAY SOLUTIONS, LTD.
Reel/Frame 035509/0782 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 18, 2006
From: KOBAYASHI, MICHIO; KOBAYASHI, REIICHI
To: NEC VIEWTECHNOLOGY, LTD.
Reel/Frame 018321/0545 →