U.S. patent application number 10/396363 was filed with the patent office on 2003-09-25 for moving picture coding apparatus and tv phone using the same.
Invention is credited to Naito, Yukihiro.
Application Number | 20030179285 10/396363 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18807282 |
Filed Date | 2003-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030179285 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Naito, Yukihiro |
September 25, 2003 |
Moving picture coding apparatus and TV phone using the same
Abstract
To provide a moving picture coding apparatus and TV phone
wherein a handwritten image is coded with less quantity of
calculation and less power consumption. The moving picture signal
from camera is combined with handwritten image signal from pen
input by combining circuit. Then, combined image as well as coding
region information to discriminate a region to be coded is fed to
motion compensative moving picture coding circuit. Motion
compensative moving picture coding circuit deems that the region
needless to be coded is the same as the latest frame. According to
the present invention, a quantity of calculation and power
consumption of moving picture coding apparatus and TV phone using
the same can be reduced, by coding only the newly inputted
handwritten image. Degradation of image quality can be reduced by
putting its motion vector "0".
Inventors: |
Naito, Yukihiro; (Tokyo,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Steven I. Weisburd
DICKSTEIN SHAPIRO MORIN & OSHINSKY LLP
41st Floor
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York
NY
10036-2714
US
|
Family ID: |
18807282 |
Appl. No.: |
10/396363 |
Filed: |
March 26, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10396363 |
Mar 26, 2003 |
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09966188 |
Sep 28, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
348/14.01 ;
348/14.07; 348/14.13; 348/E7.078; 375/E7.088; 375/E7.145;
375/E7.176; 375/E7.182; 375/E7.212 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 19/132 20141101;
H04N 19/176 20141101; H04N 19/17 20141101; H04N 7/141 20130101;
H04N 19/61 20141101 |
Class at
Publication: |
348/14.01 ;
348/14.07; 348/14.13 |
International
Class: |
H04N 007/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 30, 2000 |
JP |
2000-330833 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A moving picture coding apparatus which comprises: a combining
circuit for combining a moving picture and a handwritten image and
for outputting a combined image; and a motion compensative moving
picture coding circuit for coding said moving picture and a newly
added part of said handwritten image which differs from a
previously coded part of said handwritten image.
2. A TV phone which comprises: a voice input for receiving voice
data; a voice coder for coding said voice data; a moving picture
input for receiving moving picture data; a pen input for receiving
handwritten image data; a moving picture coding apparatus which
comprises: a combining circuit for combining said moving picture
data and said handwritten image data and for outputting a combined
image; and a motion compensative moving picture coding circuit for
coding said moving picture data and a newly added part of said
handwritten image data which differs from a previously coded part
of said handwritten image data; and a multiplexer for multiplexing
said coded voice data output from said voice coder and an output
from said moving picture coding apparatus.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a moving picture coding
apparatus and a TV phone using the same.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Handwritten images are often transmitted in TV conferences
and TV telephones. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a transmitting
system of a TV phone with an input for handwritten images, while
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of receiving system of a TV phone with an
output for handwritten images.
[0005] Voice signals from microphone 10, moving pictures from
camera 12 and handwritten images pen input 14 are coded by voice
coding circuit 11, moving picture coding circuit 13 and data coding
circuit, respectively. These coded data are multiplexed by
multiplexer 16 which is connected with a transmission channel.
[0006] The multiplexed data is demultiplexed by demultiplexer 17.
Then, the voice signals are decoded by voice decoding circuit 18
and outputted to speaker 19, the moving pictures are decoded by
moving picture decoding circuit 20 and outputted to moving picture
monitor 21, and the handwritten data are decoded by data decoding
circuit 22 and outputted to handwriten image monitor 23.
[0007] Both the transmitting and receiving system in the TV phone
should share a data transmission protocol.
[0008] A moving picture signal may be combined with a handwritten
image signal and decoded by moving picture coding means, as
disclosed in JP 11-234639 A (1999).
[0009] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a transmitting system of a TV
phone. A moving picture from camera 12 and a handwritten image from
pen input 14 are combined by combining circuit 31 into a combined
image 33 which is coded by moving piucture coding circuit 32.
[0010] FIG. 8 is an example of image 42 by combining a moving
picture 40 with a handwritten image 41 of which image size is
adjusted.
[0011] However, it requires unnecessarily much calculations and
electric power to code, by conventional method of coding moving
pictures, the handwritten image almost of which regions are
still.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] An object of the present invention is to code the
handwritten image with less quantity of calculations and less
electric power consumption in moving picture coding apparatus and
TV phone using the same.
[0013] The moving picture coding apparatus of the present invention
comprises a combining circuit for combining a moving picture with a
handwritten image, a motion compensative moving picture coding
circuit for coding all the moving picture and a newly added part in
the handwritten image.
[0014] The motion compensative moving picture coding circuit codes
only the newly inputted region, on the basis of information
concerning a region already coded and a region newly inputted.
[0015] According to the present invention, a quantity of
calculation and power consumption of moving picture coding
apparatus and TV phone using the same can be reduced, by coding
only the newly inputted handwritten image.
[0016] Degradation of image quality can be further reduced by
putting its motion vector "0".
BREIF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the moving picture coding
apparatus of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is an illustration of coding region information in a
combined image outputted from combining circuit 50 as shown in FIG.
1.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of motion compensative moving
picture coding apparatus 51 as shown in FIG. 1.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the TV phone of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a transmitter of a conventional
TV phone.
[0022] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a receiver of a conventional TV
phone.
[0023] FIG. 7 is a transmitter of a conventional TV phone capable
of transmitting handwritten image.
[0024] FIG. 8 is an illustration of a combined image outputted from
combining circuit 31 as shown in FIG. 7.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0025] The embodiment of the present invention is explained,
referring to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the moving
picture coding apparatus of the present invention. The moving
picture signal from camera 12 is combined, by combining circuit 50,
with handwritten image signal from pen input 14. Then, combined
image 52 as well as coding region information 53 for indicating a
region to be coded is fed to motion compensative moving picture
coding circuit 51.
[0026] Motion compensative moving picture coding circuit 51 deems
that the region needless to be coded is the same as the latest
frame.
[0027] FIG. 2 is an illustration for explaining coding region
information 53. Moving picture includes coding region 60 and
non-coding region 62 which is already coded.
[0028] Further, non-coding region 62 of the handwritten image
includes coding region 61 which is newly written during one
frame.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of motion compensative moving
picture coding circuit 51. Combined image 52 is divided into, for
example, blocks of 16.times.16 pixels, each of which is coded on
the basis of coding region information 53 and the coded results are
stored in buffer 82.
[0030] Skip block determination circuit 83 determines whether each
block in combined image 52 is a skip block which is not to be
coded. When a block is not a skip block, the block is coded by
coding unit 84.
[0031] Moving vector detection unit 71 calculates a motion vector,
by comparing combined image 52 with the latest frame in frame
memory 78. Then, movement compensation circuit 79 generates
predicted image 80 on the basis of the motion vector. Then,
subtractor 72 calculates a difference between combined image and
predicted image 80. The difference is processed by DCT circuit 73,
quantization circuit 74 and variable length coding circuit 81,
successively, and finally the output from variable length coding
circuit 81 is stored into buffer 82. Further, the output from
quantization circuit 74 is processed by inverse quantization
circuit 75, inverse DCT circuit 76 and adder 77, succesively, and
finally the output from adder is stored into frame memory 78.
[0032] On the other hand, when a skip block is found by skip block
determination circuit 83, coding unit 84 copies in frame memory 78
the corresponding block in the latest frame. Therefore, any other
circuits in coding unit 84 except frame memory 78 does not consume
electric power.
[0033] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a transmitter of TV phone using
the above-explained motion compensative moving picture coding
circuit. Voice signal from microphone 10 is coded by voice coding
circuit 11, while moving picture from camera 12 and handwritten
image from pen input 14 are coded by moving picture coding circuit
90 including combining circuit 50 and motion compensative moving
picture coding circuit 51. The output from voice coding circuit 11
and moving picture coding circuit 90 are multiplexed by multiplexer
16.
[0034] Here, when skip block determination circuit 83 determines a
block to be non-coding region, that block may not be doomed to be
the skip block, but may be doomed to be a block of motion vector
"0".
[0035] In this case, motion vector detection circuit 71 outputs a
motion vector "0" and, afterward, other circuits in coding unit 84
work as usual.
[0036] Thus, coding unit 84 consumes less electric power, because
motion vector detection circuit 71 consumes less power than
usual.
[0037] Further, coding region information 53 may be one of
threefold such as moving picture region, handwritten region without
movement and handwritten region with movement. The moving picture
region is coded conventionally, the handwritten region without
movement is processed as a skip block, and the handwritten region
with movement is processed as a region of motion vector "0". In
this case, the power consumption becomes less than in the case of
embodiment 1. Further, degradation of image quality due to a
spurious motion vector can be prevented.
[0038] Furthermore, coding region information 53 may be one of
twofold such as moving picture region and handwritten region. The
moving picture region is coded conventionally and the handwritten
region is processed as a region of motion vector "0". In this case,
combining circuit 50 is simplified. Further, motion vector
detection circuit 71 consumes less electric power, as embodiment 2.
Further, degradation of image quality due to a spurious motion
vector can be prevented as in embodiment 3.
* * * * *