Apparatus and method of segmenting an image according to a cost function and/or feature vector and/or receiving a signal representing the segmented image in an image coding and/or decoding system

1. An apparatus usable in an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

a segmentation unit to divide an image into one or more blocks, to segment the blocks of the image into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function and a feature vector of the respective blocks, so as to generate an segmentation image.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation unit comprises a divider to divide the image into the one or more blocks, and the one or more blocks are disposed adjacent to each other to overlap each other in at least one of first and second directions.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation unit comprises a divider to divide the image into the one or more blocks, and each of the one or more blocks comprises same pixels of one or more overlapping areas with the adjacent blocks in at least one of first and second directions.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation unit comprises a cost optimized segmentation (COS) unit to define the respective blocks as segmentation candidates, and to modify the segmentation candidates according to the cost optimized function to generate the segmented blocks to form the segmentation image.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the COS unit comprises:

a first segmentation unit to define the respective blocks as the segmentation candidates according to a classification of the blocks; and

a second segmentation unit to modify the segmentation candidates according to the cost optimized function.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cost optimized function corresponds to features of the image and consistency of segmentation between neighboring blocks.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cost optimized function corresponds to attributes of the blocks, and the attributes of the blocks comprise one of segmentation edges along text and graphics boundaries, a spatially smooth segmentation, an image region classified to a background layer, a text region classified to a foreground layer, an accurate representation of a textual and/or graphic content.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cost optimized function corresponds to the number of mismatches between pixels in an overlap region of the adjacent blocks.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cost optimized function corresponds to a variance of pixels in an overlap region of the adjacent blocks.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cost optimized function corresponds to a constancy of the neighboring blocks.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation unit modifies the blocks according to the cost optimized function to control an image quality and a compression rate of the segmentation image.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation unit comprises a connected component classification (CCC) unit to modify an initial segmentation image of the blocks of the image according to the feature vector of the initial segmentation image to generate the segmentation image.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the CCC unit extracts connected components of the adjacent blocks and calculates the feature vector of the respective blocks according to the connected components.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the CCC unit classifies pixel data of the blocks of the image according to the feature vector to modify the pixel data of the blocks to generate the segmentation image according to the modified pixel data.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the CCC unit compares the feature vector with a reference vector to modify the pixel data of the blocks of the image.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the CCC unit classifies a region of the initial segmentation image segmented according to the cost optimized function into a text region and a non-text region according to the feature vector of the adjacent regions of the initial segmentation image.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the feature vector comprises a text symbol vector and a non-text symbol vector.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation unit further modifies the respective blocks segmented according to the cost optimized function, according to the feature vector to output the segmentation image according to the modified blocks.

19. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation unit modifies the blocks according to the feature vector in order to control a false alarm probability and a correct detection probability of the segmentation image.

20. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a scanning unit to scan a document to generate a signal corresponding to the image.

21. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a printing unit to print a signal corresponding to the segmentation image.

22. An apparatus usable in an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

a segmentation unit to divide an image into one or more blocks, to segment the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks.

23. An apparatus usable in an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

a segmentation unit to divide an image into one or more blocks, to segment the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a feature vector of the respective blocks, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks.

24. An apparatus usable in an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

a decoding unit to decode an image signal encoded from a segmentation image according to a cost function and a feature vector, so as to generate a decoded image.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 , further comprising:

a printing unit to print the decoded image on a sheet of paper.

26. An apparatus usable in an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

a segmentation unit to divide an image into one or more blocks, to segment the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function and a feature vector of the respective blocks, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks; and

a decoding unit to decode a signal corresponding to the segmentation image formed according to the cost function and the feature vector of the blocks of the image, so as to generate a decoded image.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 , further comprising:

a printing unit to print the decoded image on a printing medium.

28. The apparatus of claim 26 , further comprising:

a scanning unit to scan a document to generate a signal corresponding to the image.

29. A method of an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

using a computer to perform the operations of:

dividing an image into one or more blocks; and

segmenting the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function and a feature vector, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks.

30. A method of an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

using a computer to perform the operations of:

dividing an image into one or more blocks; and

segmenting the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function, so as to generate a segmentation image as a final binary mask layer according to the segmented blocks.

31. A method of an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

using a computer to perform the operations of:

dividing an image into one or more blocks; and

segmenting the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a feature vector of the respective blocks, so as to generate a segmentation image as a final binary mask layer according to the segmented blocks.

32. A method of an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

using a computer to perform the operations of:

decoding an image signal encoded from a segmented image according to a cost function and a feature vector of blocks divided from an image, so as to generate a decoded image; and

printing the decoded image on a sheet of paper.

33. A method of an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

using a computer to perform the operations of:

dividing an image into one or more blocks;

segmenting the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function and a feature vector, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks; and

decoding a signal corresponding to the segmentation image of the segmented blocks according to the cost function and the feature vector of the blocks divided from the image, so as to generate a decoded image.

34. A non-transitory computer readable recoding medium containing computer readable codes as a program to execute a method of an image encoding and decoding system, the method comprising:

dividing an image into one or more blocks; and

segmenting the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function and a feature vector of the respective blocks, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks.

35. A non-transitory computer readable recoding medium containing computer readable codes as a program to execute a method of an image encoding and decoding system, the method comprising:

dividing an image into one or more blocks; and

segmenting the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks.

36. A non-transitory computer readable recoding medium containing computer readable codes as a program to execute a method of an image encoding and decoding system, the method comprising:

dividing an image into one or more blocks; and

segmenting the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a feature vector so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks.

37. A non-transitory computer readable recoding medium containing computer readable codes as a program to execute a method of an image encoding and decoding system, the method comprising:

decoding an image signal encoded from a segmentation image of the segmented blocks according to a cost function and a feature vector, so as to generate a decoded image; and

printing the decoded image on a sheet of paper.

38. A non-transitory computer readable recoding medium containing computer readable codes as a program to execute a method of an image encoding and decoding system, the method comprising:

dividing an image into one or more blocks;

segmenting the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a cost optimized function and a feature vector of the respective blocks, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks; and

decoding a signal corresponding to the segmentation image formed from the segmented blocks according to the cost function and the feature vector, so as to generate a decoded image.

39. An apparatus usable in an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

a segmentation unit to divide an image into one or more blocks, to segment and adjust pixel data of the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to the number of mismatches of the adjacent blocks, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks.

40. An apparatus usable in an image encoding and decoding system, comprising:

a segmentation unit to divide an image into one or more blocks, to segment the blocks into a binary mask layer of a foreground and a background according to a feature vector of the respective blocks, so as to generate a segmentation image according to the segmented blocks.