Colour picture quality improvement, specifically skin colour correction

Abstract: A color picture quality compensation circuit e.g. for skin color compensation comprising a device for detecting whether a reference color signal is present in a color signal representing a color of a video image; a device for determining a respective one of a plurality of types of reference color corresponding to a detected reference color signal; a device for providing preset compensation values, each value corresponding to a respective one of said plurality of types of reference color; and a device for adjusting the picture quality of the video image in accordance with one of said compensation values corresponding to said respective type of reference color.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color picture quality compensation circuit, and in particular to an improved color compensation circuit in which is a color picture quality is compensated for in reference to a reference color selected by a user. 2. Description of the Conventional Art Since skin color is most easily retained in human memory, color picture display systems such as television receivers and computer monitors, there have been several approaches for adjusting color picture quality using skin color as a reference color. Referring to Figure 1, one approach is to gather colors within peripheral portions of a "skin color axis" which is positioned at 123° with respect to the B-Y demodulation axis. More specifically, in order to produce various skin colors as reference skin colors, the phase of the R-Y demodulation axis is increased to move the R-Y axis toward the skin color axis and the phase of the green color (G-Y axis: not shown) is decreased to move its axis toward the skin color axis whereby the phase of the skin color is within the peripheral portions of the skin color axis. Yet more specifically, referring to Figure 2, in order to gather a color vector V1, which has a positive phase angle with respect to the skin color axis, the R-Y component V R-Y of the vector V 1 is decreased to V R-Y' . Because of this decrease, V 1 now becomes a color vector V 1 ' which has a phase closer to the skin color axis, thus producing the color as a reference skin color. Likewise, when the B-Y component V B-Y of a color vector V 2 , which has a negative phase angle with respect to the skin color axis, is decreased to a value V B-Y' , the color vector V 2 becomes a color vector V 2 ', which has a phase within the peripheral portions of the skin color axis, thus producing the color as a reference skin color. An example of such a conventional skin color compensation circuit is shown in Figure 3. This conventional compensation circuit includes a burst gate 1 for providing a burst signal derived from a composite color image signal CVBS; a 3.58 MHZ oscillator 2 for providing a reference sub-carrier signal fsc which is in synchronization with the burst signal; a Y/C separation unit 3 for separating Y (Luminance) and C (color) signals from the composit signal CVBS; an amplifier 4 for amplifying the C- signal from the Y/C separation unit; a color demodulator 5 ; a delay unit 6 for delaying the Y-signal from the Y/C separation unit 3 for a predetermined time; a matrix amplifier 7; and a phase detector 8 for detecting the phase of an amplified C-signal provided from the amplifier 4 in conjunction with the reference sub-carrier signal fsc provided from the 3.58 oscillator 2. The color demodulator 5 comprises a tint controller "a", a R-Y demodulator "b", a 90-degree phase shifter "c", a B-Y demodulator "d", and a G-Y demodulator "e". The matrix amplifier 7 comprises mixers f, g, and h for mixing the output from the delay unit 6 and a color difference signal from the color demodulator 5, and amplifiers I, j, and k coupled thereto, respectively. The color demodulator 5 demodulates the C- signal into R-Y and B-Y demodulation signals. The user adjusts tint and color saturation in reference to the skin color produced on a display screen (e.g., color picture tube CPT). Referring to Figure 3, the phase detector 8 detects whether a signal representing skin color is present in the C-signal. If skin color is detected, the tint controller a of the color demodulator 5 is controlled for controlling the positioning of the demodulation axis toward the skin color axis. However, this conventional approach has drawbacks. For example, if a color vector (e.g., V, in Fig. 2) is adjusted to move toward the skin color axis, its component value (e.g., V R-Y ) with respect to the conventional demodulation axis is reduced to another value (e.g., V ' / R-Y) of a smaller magnitude, thus decreasing the overall color density. Further, the color is adjusted in reference to one skin color, incapable of responding to various kinds of skin color individually. Another conventional approach is now explained in reference to Figure 4. In this approach, the angle between the R-Y and the B-Y demodulation axes is fixed at 112° (not at a more conventional 90°), thus increasing the R-Y component. As shown in Figure 5, the phase shifter "c" of the color modulator 5 in this approach is fixed at a 112°, as compared to the phase shifter of the color demodulator of Figure 3 being fixed at a 90°. The reference numerals in Figure 5 correspond to the same reference numerals in Figure 3. Further, the G-Y axis (not shown) is fixed at an angle of 252°. In this approach, since the signal axis is always maintained at a same fixed angle to obtain a stable skin color, when an inputted signal represents no skin color, unnecessary color shift would occur. EP-A-0 160 489 and US-A-5 305 094 are concerned with the correction of detected selected colours within specific colour bands by digital correction values. JP-A-4 150 690, JP-A-4 267 691 and EP-A-0 677 971 are specifically concerned with the correction of skin colour detected in an image. JP-A-62 229 476 discloses correcting skin colour when the number of occurences of such colour in an image exceeds a threshold. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a color picture quality compensation circuit which overcomes the aforementioned problems encountered in the conventional art. To achieve the above object, a color picture quality compensation circuit of the present invention as defined in claim 1, and a corresponding method defined in claim 8 are provided. Additional advantages, objects and features of the invention will become more apparent from the description which follows. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: FIGURE 1 is a conceptual graph representing a conventional skin color compensation approach. FIGURE 2 is a more detailed graphical representation of Figure 2. FIGURE 3 is a block diagram of a conventional skin color compensation circuit. FIGURE 4 is a conceptual graph representing another conventional skin color compensation approach. FIGURE 5 is a block diagram of another conventional skin color compensation circuit. FIGURE 6 is a conceptual block diagram of a color picture quality compensation circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGURE 7 is a circuit schematic of color picture quality compensation circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIGURE 8 is a circuit schematic of the phase detector of Figure 7. FIGURE 9 is a table showing the phase and output voltage of the phase detector of FIGURE 8 for various color bars. FIGURE 10 is a circuit diagram of the skin color type detector of FIGURE 7. FIGURE 11 is a table representing bit streams of digital data detected by the skin color type detector of FIGURE 10. FIGURES 12A and 12B are graphs illustrating color saturation and brightness based on different skin colors. FIGURE 13A, 13B, and 13C is a table of a color axis value with respect to the skin color of Mongoloid, Caucasian and Negro, respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 6 is a conceptual block diagram of a color picture quality compensation circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, various different types of skin color, e.g., Mongolian, Caucasian, Negro, are used as a reference color and each type is distinguished from the other. To produce a particular type of skin color, for example, on a CPT screen, color compensation data, which represent color density, brightness, tint, etc., each corresponding to a respective one of the different types of skin color are preset, for example, in memory. Referring to Figure 6, the color picture quality compensation circuit of the present invention, as embodied herein, conceptually includes a skin color detector 10 for detecting a skin color; a skin color type detector 20 for determining the type of the skin color detected by the skin color detector 10; a skin color compensation unit 30 for providing the compensation data corresponding to the type of skin color determined by the skin color type detector 20; and a display unit 40, e.g., a CPT, for displaying the color which is compensated by the compensation data. Figure 7 shows a schematic of the color picture quality compensation circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention. The color compensation circuit, as embodied herein, preferably includes a phase detector 8' for detecting a skin color; a skin color type detector 9' for detecting the type of the skin color detected by the phase detector 8'; and a color compensation unit 10' for providing a compensation signal representing preset compensation data corresponding to the skin color type detected by the skin color type detector 9'. In this compensation circuit, both the skin color and the skin color type are detected in reference to the phase of the signal representing the skin color detected; and the preset compensation data representing color characteristics, e.g., color saturation, brightness corresponding to the detected type of skin color is provided; and the quality of the picture to be displayed on a screen controlled based on the detected skin color and skin color type. Referring to Figure 7, the skin type detector 9' and the color compensation unit 10' can be integrated into a microcomputer. The phase detector 8' receives the color sub-carrier signal fsc and the C-signal and determines whether skin color is present in the C-signal. Other reference numerals in Figure 7 correspond to the same reference numerals in Figure 3. Figure 8 shows a block diagram of the phase detector 8' comprising amplifiers 10a, 10b and 10d, and a phase detection unit 10c. The phase detection unit 10c compares the phase differences between the color sub-carrier signal fsc and the C-signal, which signals have been amplified to appropriate signal levels for the phase detection unit 10c by the amplifiers 10a and 10b, respectively, and produces a voltage output representing the phase difference between these two signals to determine whether skin color is present in the C-signal. This voltage output is amplified to an appropriate signal level for the skin type detector 9' by the amplifier 10d. Figure 9 is a table illustrating the output voltage of the phase detector 8' of Figure 8 for respective color bars. The "phase angle ()" represents the phase angle of the C-signal representing a respective color bar with respect to the demodulation axis. The output voltage of the phase detector 8' is inversely proportional to the detected phase difference. Magenta, which has a smallest phase angle with respect to the demodulation axis, has a 3.8V output. The phase detector output representing skin color varies from 2.95V to 3.25V, which correspond to a range of phase angles 116° ∼ 130° with respect to the B-Y demodulation axis, depending on the types of the skin color. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the output voltage of the phase detector 8' with respect to types of skin color is set as follows: Type 1: Mongolian skin color: 3.0V Type 2: Negro, sun-tanned, make-up skin color: 3.1V Type 3: Caucasian skin color: 3.2V After the phase detector 8' detects the presence of skin color in the C-signal, the skin color type detector 9' determines the type of skin color corresponding to the detected skin color among the following types: Mongolian skin color; Negro, sun-tanned, make-up skin color; and Caucasian skin color. Referring to Figure 10, in the skin color type detector 9', as embodied herein, comparators Comp1, Comp2, Comp3, and Comp4 compare the output voltage received from the phase detector 8' through non-inversion terminals (+) thereof with reference voltages 2.95V, 3.05V, 3.15V, and 3.25V applied to inversion terminals (-), respectively, and each comparator outputs a "0" or "1" value representing the result of the comparison to a respective one of analog/digital conversion terminals AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4 of a microcomputer. The microcomputer converts the values provided to the terminals AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4 into a stream of four bits and determines the type of skin color based on this bit stream of digital data, and provide present compensation data corresponding to this bit stream. For example, referring to Fig. 11, if the output values from the AD1 through AD4 are a bit stream of "1000," this represents an output voltage X of phase detector is between 2.95V and 3.05V. Then, it is determined that the type of skin color is Mongolian. Likewise, if the output values are "1100,"the output voltage X is between 3.05V and 3.15V. Then, it is determined that skin color type is the make-up skin color or sun-tanned skin color or the Negro skin color. Likewise, if the output values are "1110," the output voltage X is between 3.15V and 3.25V. Then, the type of skin color is the Caucasian skin color. Once the skin color type detector 9' determines the type of the skin color detected it provides information representing the skin color type to the skin color compensation unit 10'. The skin color compensation unit 10' reads such information every 1msec, which corresponds to reading 15 times for one field of an image to ensure its accuracy. Of that information read 15 times, the information that has been repeatedly obtained most frequently may be considered as the true value. The skin color compensation unit 10' outputs a preset compensation value corresponding to that particular type of skin color determined by the skin color type detector, to adjust the color picture quality of the picture image. The skin color type-dependent compensation value is preset based on the following conditions. Figures 12A and 12B show the standard color brightness level suggested by the Commission Internationale d'Eclairage with respect to the brightness and color density of the skin color regarding Mongolian, Caucasian, and Negro skin colors. As shown in Figures 12A and 12B, the type of skin color can be determined based on the brightness and density of the color. For example, in Figure 12A, the density(or saturation) of color increases in the order of Caucasian, Mongolian, and sun-tanned(or Negro). Likewise, in Figure 128, the brightness of color increases in the order of sun-tanned (or Negro), Mongolian, and Caucasian. Therefore, the type of skin color can be expressed in reference to the color brightness and density. Referring to Figures 13A, 13B, and 13C, the color axial values are measured for samples of 10 people, and the compensation values corresponding to the skin type are determined as follows. Mongolian: brightness = 55, color density = 58 Sun-tanned brightness = 35, color density = 65 Caucasian brightness = 65, color density = 43 In summary, according to the present invention, as embodied herein, the phase detector receives the color sub-carrier signal and the C-signal of a composite video signal representing a video image and detects the phase difference between these two signals, to detect whether a signal representing skin color is present in the C-signal. If skin color is present, the type of the detected skin color, namely Mongolian skin color; Negro, sun-tanned, make-up skin color; or Caucasian skin color, is determined. Then, a preset compensation data corresponding to that particular type of skin color which represents color characteristics such as tint, color density and brightness, is provided to adjust the picture quality of the video image. As described above, in the color picture quality compensation circuit according to the present invention, the color picture quality is adjusted in real time in reference to the type of the skin color detected from the composite video signal. If no skin color is present, no adjustments need to be made. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the accompanying claims. For example, according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the skin color is used as a reference color. However, different colors (such as blue sky color, green color, etc.) can be used as a reference color. Further, rather than using a single color (e.g., skin color) as a reference color, several different colors (e.g., skin color, blue sky color, and green color) can be concurrently used as reference colors.

Claims: A color picture quality compensation circuit, comprising: means (10; 8', 9') for detecting whether a reference color signal is present in a color signal (G') representing the color of a video image; means (20; 9') for determining one of a plurality of types of reference color, corresponding to the detected reference color signal; means (30; 9', 10') for providing preset compensation values, each value corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of types of reference color, in order to adjust the picture quality of the video image in accordance with a compensation value corresponding to said one of a plurality of types of reference color, wherein said determining means (20;9') include: means (9') for repeatedly checking the color signal (C) for occurrence therein of the reference color detected by said detecting means (10;8';9') during a predetermined time period, and means (10') for counting a number representing the frequency of said occurrence during said predetermined time period, and wherein said determining means are arranged for selecting said respective one of the plurality of types of reference color, on the basis of the counted number during said time period. The color picture quality compensation circuit of claim 1, wherein said reference color includes one or more of blue sky and green colors. The color picture quality compensation circuit of claim 1, wherein : said reference color signal is a skin color signal; and said plurality of types of reference color are a plurality of types of skin color. The color picture quality compensation circuit of claim 3, wherein said detecting means are arranged for detecting whether a skin color signal is present in a color signal representing the color of a video image. The color picture quality compensation circuit of claim 3 or claim 4, wherein said plurality of types of skin color include one or more of Mongolian, Caucasian and Negro skin color types. The color picture quality compensation circuit of one of the preceding claims, wherein said preset compensation value is related to one or more of brightness, color saturation and tint of the video image. The color picture quality compensation circuit of one of the preceding claims, wherein said reference color signal represents a reference color selected by a user. A color picture quality compensation method, comprising the steps of: a) detecting whether a reference color signal is present in a color signal representing the color of a video image; b) determining one of a plurality of types of reference color, corresponding to the detected reference color signal; c) providing preset compensation values, each value corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of types of reference color, in order to adjust the picture quality of the video image in accordance with a compensation value corresponding to said one of a plurality of types of reference color, wherein the determining step b) further includes the operations of: b1) repeatedly checking the reference color signal (C) for occurrence therein of the detected reference color during a predetermined time period, b2) counting a number representing the frequency of said occurrence during said predetermined time period, b3) and selecting said respective one of the plurality of types of reference color, on the basis of the counted number during said time period. The color picture quality compensation method of claim 8, wherein said reference color includes one or more of blue sky and green colors. The color picture quality compensation method of claim 8, wherein: said reference color signal is a skin color signal; and said plurality of types of reference color is are plurality of types of skin color. The color picture quality compensation method of claim 10, wherein, in said detecting step a), the presence of a skin color signal is detected in a color signal representing the color of a video image. The color picture quality compensation method of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein said plurality of types of skin color include one or more of Mongolian, Caucasian and Negro skin color types. The color picture quality compensation method of one of claims 8 to 12, wherein said preset compensation value is related to one or more of brightness, color saturation and tint of the video image. The color picture quality compensation method of one of claims 8 to 13, wherein said reference color signal represents a reference color selected by a user.

Inventors: HA YEONG-HO, HONG KYONG-CHUL, LEE KWANG-CHUN, HA, YEONG-HO, HONG, KYONG-CHUL, LEE, KWANG-CHUN
Applicants: LG ELECTRONICS INC, LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: H04N9
IPC codes: H04N9, H04N1