Hewlett-packard Company

Wade Patrick Mears

Charles Chi Jia

Melissa Lee Monty

Adelaida Escobedo

William Edward Stewart

James Xin-Ping Zheng

Chromatic adjustments to the overall color balance of the image are presented on one screen and tonal adjustments (such as brightness or contrast) that do not affect the overall color balance are presented on another screen. The chromatic adjustments include at least three independent variables each of which can be separately increased or decreased, while the tonal adjustments include brightness and contrast that can be separately increased or decreased. Such a grouping concentrates the user's attention on only two or three adjustments related to a single readily identifiable deficiency in the original image, and thus not only facilitates image improvement but also makes it easier to selectively undo the effects of some adjustments but not others. Each adjustment is displayed as a pair of preview images which respectively show the effect of a one step increment or decrement of the associated variable. Each pair of preview images are clearly separated from all other images on the same screen and are displayed as two adjacent 'buttons' either of which can be actuated by the user to effect the displayed result. The step size is adjustable by means of a single slider control that is effective for all the adjustments on that screen Each image adjustment screen includes thumbnail images corresponding to the original image and to the revised image. The thumbnail revised image is the largest image on the screen and is the focal point of attention for the user.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Wade Patrick Mears