JPH04245865A - Picture processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a processed picture without a block artifact occurring by means of the bias of picture element data of the same quality in a picture processing process. CONSTITUTION:The output of an original picture data memory 1 storing picture data of an original picture consisting of picture element data which is matrix- arranged is supplied to a processed picture data memory 6 through a grouping part 2, a picture processing system 4 and an inverse grouping part 5. The processing timing of it and the like are controlled by a controller 3. The grouping part 2 divides one piece of picture data stored in the memory 1 into plural groups and obtains picture data for respective groups. Picture processing parts 41, 42 and 4n included in the picture processing system 4 execute a data processing in parallel in correspondence with group data of respective groups divided by the grouping part 2. The inverse grouping part 5 synthesizes data of respective groups which are data-processed for respective groups in the picture processing parts 41, 42...4n in a division method inverse to that divided in the grouping part 2.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image processing device that records or transmits image data consisting of a plurality of pixel data, and in particular, blocks (groups) one image data and performs various image processing. The present invention relates to an image processing device that performs.

0002

[Background Art] Taking image compression technology as an example, image data is usually divided into blocks to speed up calculations, and compression processing is used to efficiently store or transmit a large amount of image data. By doing so, it is possible to reduce storage capacity, transmission capacity, etc., and improve processing speed. Image data compression processing involves dividing multiple pixel data arranged in a matrix into blocks of appropriate size (number of pixel data) and performing orthogonal transformation on the multiple pixel data contained in each block. , transforms a real space signal into a frequency space signal. Next, threshold processing is performed on the output values of the orthogonal transform by setting a threshold value for each block to exclude high frequency components with little gradation change. The output values subjected to threshold processing are quantized by setting a quantization width for each block and each frequency component, and the quantized output values are further encoded to complete the image data compression process. On the restoration side, the compressed image data is inversely transformed, the image is restored block by block, and the images of each block are combined to restore the entire image.

[0003] The relative relationship between each pixel data of a plurality of pixel data included in each conventional block is that they are adjacent to each other. That is, blocking is performed by simply dividing a matrix array of a plurality of pixel data into a plurality of sections without changing the arrangement order.

0004

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] Due to reasons such as the threshold value in threshold processing being different for each block and the quantization width in quantization processing being different for each block, it is difficult to convert the entire image from a block image. The quality of pixel data in each block during synthesis differs from block to block, resulting in so-called block artifacts.

The present invention has been made to address the above-mentioned problems, and while maintaining the effect of shortening processing time by dividing image data into blocks and performing image processing on each block in parallel, It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing device that can obtain processed images without block artifacts caused by uneven pixel data of the same quality.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides means for dividing image data consisting of a plurality of pixel data arranged in a matrix direction into group data for each of a plurality of groups, and performing image processing for each of the group data. An image processing apparatus comprising:

[0007] The dividing means includes means for dividing the image data into a plurality of group data so that each group data does not include adjacent pixel data in at least one of the row and column directions. .

[0008]

[Operation] According to the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of pixel data of one sheet of image data are processed so that each group data does not include pixel data adjacent to each other in at least one direction of the row direction and the column direction. If the data is divided into a plurality of group data, image processing is performed for each group data, and the image is combined or restored, a combined or restored image in which pixel data of the same quality is distributed for each image processing group can be obtained.

[0009]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment.

The output of the original image data memory 1 storing image data of an original image consisting of matrix-arranged pixel data is passed through a grouping section 2, an image processing system 4, and an inverse grouping section 5. The processed image data is supplied to the processed image data memory 6. The processing timing and the like of the grouping section 2, the image processing system 4, and the inverse grouping section 5 are controlled by the controller 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the grouping unit 2
It has a memory 21, an address controller 22, and group memories 23, 24, . obtain. The image processing units 41, 42, and 4n included in the image processing system 4 perform data processing in parallel on the group data of each group divided by the grouping unit 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the inverse grouping unit 5 has group memories 51, 52...5n.
, an address controller 53, and a memory 54, the data of each group subjected to data processing for each group in the image processing units 41, 42, . Synthesize using the following method. The processed image data memory 6 stores one piece of processed image data combined by the inverse grouping section 5.

Next, the operation of the grouping section 2 will be explained with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the original image data M stored in the original image data memory 1 has pixel data arranged in an 8×8 matrix. When the original image data M is output to the grouping unit 2, the original image data M is temporarily stored in the memory 21, and the pixel data is allocated (grouped) to the group memory corresponding to each address. ) is stored. The rule for this allocation is that pixel data adjacent to each other in the same row and between rows in the pixel data array do not become elements of the same group. Normally, as shown in Figure 4, pixel data in the same row is skipped by one and the row is
Collect pixel data of the same group in one go. Under the control of the address controller 22, the pixel data 11
, 13, 15, 17, 31, 33, 35, 37, 51,
53, 55, 57, 71, 73, 75, and 77 are stored in the group memory 23 as M11, and pixel data 12,
14, 16, 18, 32, 34, 36, 38, 52, 5
4, 56, 58, 72, 74, 76, and 78 are stored in the group memory 24 as M12, and other pixel data are similarly stored in the group memory corresponding to each address. When outputting pixel data from the memory 21 to the group memories, data is transmitted all at once by parallel transmission processing of pixel data upon receiving instructions from the address controller 22 for address patterns of pixel data corresponding to each group memory. . Note that in the pixel data transmission process, pixel data may be serially transmitted one by one in the order of the data array of the original image, or
Pixel data corresponding to each group memory may be serially transmitted to the group memory.

After the original image data M is grouped as described above, the image processing units 41, 42, . , rotation processing, etc. are performed in parallel, and the image data that has been subjected to the various image processing as described above is subjected to processing in the inverse grouping section 5 that is opposite to that of the grouping section 2. Processing data for each group is temporarily stored in group memories 51, 52, 5n for each group,
The grouped pixel data is synthesized at the address position in the original image under the control of the address controller 53.
Obtain two processed images. The combined processed image data is temporarily stored in the memory 54, and the image data stored in the memory 54 is stored in the processed image data memory. The effect of this embodiment is to reduce the processing time by dividing image data into blocks and performing image processing in parallel for each block, while also reducing block artifacts caused by uneven pixel data of the same quality due to the image processing process. No processed images can be obtained.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. This embodiment utilizes the effect of data compression in an image processing system to improve data transmission efficiency between remote locations. The output of an original image data memory 1 storing image data of an original image is supplied to a processed image data memory 6 via a grouping section 2, an image processing system 4, and an inverse grouping section 5. Image processing system 4
The image processing units 4A1, 4A2...4An, the transmission unit 7,
It has image processing units 4B1, 4B2...4Bn. The transmission unit 7 can be changed to a storage unit or the like in other embodiments as appropriate. Since this embodiment differs from the previous embodiment only in the configuration and operation of the image processing system, only the image processing system will be explained and the explanation of other parts will be omitted.

The image processing units 4A1, 4A2, . . . , 4An have the same configuration. To explain with reference to FIG. 6, the image processing unit 4A has a group input buffer A1 that temporarily stores image data grouped in the grouping unit 2, and a group input buffer A1 that stores discrete cosine transform (DCT), etc. DCT operation unit A that applies the output data from
2, a group buffer A3 that temporarily stores image data in frequency space for each group obtained by discrete cosine transformation; A requantization unit A4 compresses information by applying processing such as small and dense quantization width and threshold processing, and a group buffer A5 that temporarily stores requantized image data for each group. , an encoding unit A6 that performs encoding, for example, variable length encoding, so as not to damage the entropy of the image data of each group compressed by requantization, and a group output buffer A that encodes the encoded image data of each group.
7, a DCT controller A8 that controls the operations of the group input buffer A1, the DCT calculation section A2, and the group buffer A3, and the group buffer A3 and the requantization section A4.
and a requantization controller A9 that controls the operation of the group buffer A5 and the group buffer A5, and a requantization controller A9 that controls operations of the group buffer A5 and the group buffer A5,
6 and group output buffer A7, and a unit controller A11 that controls the operation of the entire image processing section 4A.

The image processing section 4B performs a data processing process opposite to that of the image processing section 4A, as shown in FIG. The grouped and compressed image data passes through the transmission section 7 to the group input buffer B1, the inverse encoding section B2,
It is output via group buffer B3, inverse requantization section B4, group buffer B5, inverse DCT operation section B6, and group output buffer B7. The decoding controller B8 includes the group input buffer B1 and the decoding unit B.
The inverse requantization controller B9 controls the operations of the group buffer B3, the inverse requantization section B4, and the group buffer B5, and the inverse DCT controller B10 controls the operations of the group buffer B5 and the inverse requantization unit B3. The unit controller A11 controls the operation of the DCT calculation section B6 and the group output buffer B7, and the unit controller A11 controls the operation of the DCT calculation section B6 and the group output buffer B7.
Controls the entire operation of B.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. When transmitting or storing a very large amount of data, compress the data as a preprocessing to reduce transmission resources or storage resources, or to improve transmission efficiency and storage efficiency.
After processing such as transmission, the compressed data is often decompressed to restore the original data. In this embodiment, grouping processing is employed in the pre-processing of the data compression, and inverse grouping processing is employed in the post-processing of the restoration processing. The configuration and operation for the grouping process are as described in the previous embodiment.

Still another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the image processing apparatuses of the first embodiment described above are connected in a hierarchical manner. In the lower layer of the image processing unit 41 of the first image processing device, there is also a layer 41 of the second image processing device.
The grouping sections 2a of a, 42a, 43a, and 44a are connected, and the group data outputted to the image processing section 41 from among the group data grouped by the grouping section 2 is input. This hierarchical structure of the image processing device allows for further subdivision of grouping, making it possible to improve the efficiency of data processing for a larger amount of data. Note that there is no limit to the number of layers in the hierarchical structure of the image processing device, and if the grouping in the first layer adopts the grouping explained in the first embodiment shown in FIG. For the grouping, the grouping according to the present invention explained in the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 9 may be adopted, the conventional blocking as shown in FIG. Methods may be mixed. According to this embodiment, since the number of data to be handled in each layer decreases as the layer decreases, the processing time required for image processing decreases as the layer decreases, and thus processed image data is obtained in order from the lower layer to the upper layer. As a result, for example, if the processed image data of each layer is displayed on the same display system in the order of completion of processing, the processed image of the lowest layer with the lowest image quality will be displayed first, and the processed images with better image quality will be displayed in order. As a result, if the desired level of image quality is obtained without waiting for image data processing in the top layer, image data processing can be terminated at that point, reducing unnecessary image data processing time. be able to.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified in various ways. For example, the rule for collecting pixel data in the grouping unit is to collect one pixel data in the pixel data array, but it is sufficient that the number of pixel data to be skipped is one or more. Also, in this explanation, the collection rules for pixel data of one image data are explained, but the collection rules when grouping pixel data of multiple image data such as a video are collected across frames. Rules may be established.

[0019]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, 1
The image data is divided into a plurality of group data such that each group data does not include pixel data adjacent to each other in at least one direction of the row direction and the column direction. When processing and combining or restoring, a combined or restored image in which pixel data of the same quality is distributed for each image processing group can be obtained, so that image data can be divided into blocks and image processing can be performed in parallel for each block. While maintaining the effect of shortening the processing time, it is possible to obtain a processed image free of block artifacts caused by biasing of pixel data of the same quality in the image processing process.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image data processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a grouping section shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the inverse grouping section shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating grouping of an image data matrix array according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image data processing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image processing section A shown in FIG. 5. FIG.

7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image processing section B shown in FIG. 5. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a hierarchical arrangement of image data processing devices according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing grouping of the image data matrix array after the first grouping shown in FIG. 8 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing conventional blocking of the image data matrix array after the first grouping shown in FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Original image data memory, 2...Grouping section, 3...Controller, 4...Image processing system, 5...Reverse grouping section, 6...
Processing image data memory.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image processing device comprising means for dividing image data consisting of a plurality of pixel data arranged in a matrix direction into group data for each of a plurality of groups, and means for performing image processing for each of the group data. , wherein the dividing means comprises means for dividing the image data into a plurality of group data such that each group data does not include adjacent pixel data in at least one of the row and column directions. Device.