Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Takashi Mine

Takaji Numao

Seiichi Gohshi

Yoshimitsu Murahashi

Naoki Shiobara

A purpose of the present invention is to implement, by specifying a process target area, an image generation device which generates an image (video) from which an image quality improving effect can be recognized and a display device which displays the image. An image generation device () includes a screen duplication unit (), a mask area determination unit (), a composition unit (), and an image quality adjustment unit (). The screen duplication unit () extracts and outputs at least a part of an image area of an input image as a process target image. The mask area determination unit () determines a mask area of the process target image and generates a mask image specifying the mask area. The image quality adjustment unit () performs predetermined image process to the mask area, which is determined by the mask area determination unit () in the process target image and outputs the image, to which the image process is performed, as an image after image quality adjustment. The composition unit () acquires a composited image in which the process target image, the mask image, and the image after the image quality adjustment are composited so that the process target image, the mask image, and the image after the image quality adjustment are displayed on a display screen.

Image generation device and display device

An image processing device () includes a luminance variation detection unit (), an angular variation detection unit (), an image region detection unit (), and an image processing unit (). The luminance variation detection unit () detects a degree of variation of pixel value in a pixel reference region including a pixel of interest and pixels around the pixel of interest. The angular variation detection unit () acquires a contour direction where the pixel value is constant in the pixel reference region for each pixel and detects a degree of variation of the acquired contour direction. The image region detection unit () acquires an image region detection signal representing characteristics of the image region including the pixel of interest based on the degree of variation of the pixel value and the degree of variation of the contour direction. The image processing unit () performs a predetermined image process on the pixel of interest based on the image region detection signal.

Image processing device

Provided is an image processing device capable of performing appropriate noise removal or reduction on input images of various resolution. The image processing device includes a contour direction estimating unit () that estimates a contour direction in which a signal value is a constant value for each pixel, a low pass filter unit () that smoothes the signal value of the pixel based on the signal value of each reference pixel serving as a pixel of a reference region according to the pixel and arranged in the contour direction of the pixel estimated by the contour direction estimating unit for each pixel, and a parameter deciding unit () that decides intensity of smoothing by the low pass filter unit according to an enlargement factor obtained based on a ratio of resolution of an input image signal and resolution of an output image signal.

Image processing device, image processing method, image processing program, and image display device

An image processing system for processing a target pixel to be processed, which target pixel corresponds to inputted image data, a plurality of pixels including the target pixel being arranged in a matrix manner, includes an NR circuit (). The NR circuit () includes a signal processing process circuit () for carrying out subtraction or addition, with respect to a pixel value Aij of the target pixel, of a value equivalent to a noise quantity Er calculated in advance, in a case where the pixel value Aij of the target pixel is larger or smaller, respectively, than a first couple of estimated values Bij and Cij for the pixel value Aij of the target pixel, the first couple of estimated values Bij and Cij being estimated from pixel values of respective pixels adjacent to the target pixel, centered at the target pixel, in a temporal axis or in a spatial axis. It is therefore possible to provide an image processing system which further reduces noise and is less likely to blur a video as compared with a conventional noise reduction process.

Image processing system and display device for carrying out subtraction or addition of a pixel value of a target pixel in accordance with a value equivalent to a noise quantity

A signal processing device () includes noise reduction units (), cascade-connected to each other, each of which includes: a signal selection section () for selecting a representative value from sampled signals obtained from an input signal by sampling a target signal and signals which are away from the target signal by given intervals; a voltage determination section () for determining which of a determined representative value and a voltage of the target signal is larger; and a signal output section () for increasing or decreasing the voltage of the target signal depending on a result of the determining and outputs the target signal as the output signal. A combination of intervals between the target signal and the signals excluding the target signal vary from noise reduction unit () to noise reduction unit (). A noise reduction unit on a more upstream side has a larger maximum value of the intervals.

Signal processing device, integrated circuit, control program, and computer readable recording medium

A liquid crystal display device () of the present invention includes an NR circuit () for carrying out a signal processing process in which a predetermined noise amount is added to or subtracted from data of a target pixel in accordance with a result of a comparison of signal levels between the target pixel and at least two surrounding pixels which are beside the target pixel, the NR circuit () adding or subtracting the predetermined noise amount to or from data of respective pixels adjacent to each other temporally or positionally in respective different signal processing processes. This allows providing a liquid crystal display device having a noise reduction effect. It is thus possible to provide a liquid crystal display device enabling less blur of an image after a noise reduction process.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Takashi Mine