Abstract:
A method and system for enhancing images utilizes the direction of a detected edge within an image block of an input image to selectively smooth or sharpen a pixel of the input image that corresponds to that image block. The direction of a detected edge within the image block is determined by computing the horizontal gradient and the vertical gradient, and then using the ratio of the computed gradients. In an exemplary embodiment, the method and system is designed to exclusively use bit shifting to perform multiplications, rather than using digital signal processing. Consequently, the method and system is suitable for implementation in printer firmware and/or hardware.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention relates generally to image processing, and more particularly to a method and system for enhancing images by sharpening and/or smoothing.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Sharpening and smoothing operations are commonly used to enhance the appearance of digital images. A sharpening operation is used to emphasize edges and features in a digital image. In contrast, a smoothing operation is used to suppress visual noise in smooth areas of a digital image. These image enhancements can be used to compensate for image degradation due to defects or irregularities in the imaging sensor, optical lens or other elements in the image capture device. Furthermore, these image enhancements can be used to improve the quality of printed images. Most inkjet printers use a halftoning process to render ink drops onto printing media to create printed images with apparent continuous tone level. The appearance of continuous tone level is achieved by modulating the ink drops in either frequency or size, according to the grayscales in the original images. However, ink drop placement error and ink drop shape variation may weaken high spatial frequency components in the original images. As a result, the printed version of original images may appear blurry.  
           [0003]    One technique to compensate for this problem is to enhance edges (high frequency components) within an input image before the halftoning process by sharpening these edges, so that enough high frequency components remain after the halftoning process. However, if just simple conventional image sharpening process is applied to the entire input image, the noise included in the image may also get enhanced. Thus, intelligent image enhancing processes have been developed to selectively perform either a sharpening operation or a smoothing operation. These intelligent image enhancing processes first determine whether the current pixel of an input image is in a smooth area or near an edge of the image. If the current pixel is in a smooth area of the image, a smoothing operation is performed on that pixel. An example of a conventional smoothing operation involves averaging the current pixel with neighboring pixels. On the other hand, if the current pixel is near an edge of the image, a sharpening operation is performed on that pixel. An example of a conventional sharpening operation involves filtering the current pixel of an input image through a high-pass filter and then adding to the original pixel a signal proportional to the high-pass filtered version of that pixel. Thus, high-frequency components of the input image are emphasized. By determining whether a pixel of an input image is near an edge, these intelligent image enhancing processes can apply the proper operation to each pixel of an input image to enhance the image for the printing process.  
           [0004]    A concern with the conventional intelligent image enhancing processes is that these processes tend to be computationally intensive. Thus, the conventional intelligent image sharpening processes are not well suited for ASIC hardware or printer firmware implementation.  
           [0005]    In view of this concern, there is a need for a method and system for intelligently enhancing images in a less computationally intensive manner, and consequently, is suitable for ASIC hardware or printer firmware implementation.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    A method and system for enhancing images utilizes the direction of a detected edge within an image block of an input image to selectively smooth or sharpen a pixel of the input image that corresponds to that image block. The direction of a detected edge within the image block is determined by computing the horizontal gradient and the vertical gradient, and then using the ratio of the computed gradients. In an exemplary embodiment, the method and system is designed to exclusively use bit shifting to perform multiplications, rather than using digital signal processing. Consequently, the method and system is suitable for implementation in printer firmware and/or hardware.  
           [0007]    A method in accordance with the invention includes the steps of detecting an edge within an image block of an input digital image that corresponds to a pixel of the input image, determining a direction of the detected edge, and sharpening the pixel of the input image according to the determined edge direction.  
           [0008]    In an embodiment, the step of determining the direction of the detected edge includes a sub-step of utilizing a ratio of the horizontal gradient value and the vertical gradient value of the image block to determine the edge direction. The sub-step of utilizing the ratio of the horizontal and gradient values may include computing the horizontal and vertical gradient values using bit shifting. Further, the sub-step may include comparing a multiple of the horizontal gradient value with a multiple of the vertical gradient value. The multiples of the horizontal and vertical gradient values may be computed using bit shifting.  
           [0009]    In an embodiment, the step of detecting an edge within the image block includes comparing the difference between the maximum pixel value and the minimum pixel value of the image block with a predefined threshold.  
           [0010]    In an embodiment, the step of sharpening the pixel of the input image includes applying sharpening to selected pixel values of the image block along the edge direction to produce an enhanced pixel of the pixel of the input image. Furthermore, the step of sharpening the pixel of the input image may include applying smoothing to selected pixel values of the image block along a perpendicular direction of the edge direction.  
           [0011]    In an embodiment, the method further includes the step of smoothing the pixel of the input image when an edge is not detected in the image block. The step of smoothing the pixel of the input image further includes applying smoothing to selected pixel values of the image block along two pre-selected perpendicular directions to produce a smoothed pixel of the pixel of the input image.  
           [0012]    A system in accordance with the invention includes an edge detector, an edge orientation computer and a sharpening unit. The edge detector is configured to detect an edge within an image block of an input image that corresponds to a pixel of the input image. The edge orientation computer is configured to determine a direction of the detected edge within the image block. The sharpening unit is configured to enhance the pixel of the input image according to the edge direction.  
           [0013]    In an embodiment, the edge orientation computer is configured to utilize a ratio of a horizontal gradient value and a vertical gradient value of the image block to determine the edge direction. The edge orientation computer may be configured to compute the horizontal and vertical gradient values using bit shifting. Further, the edge orientation computer may be configured to compare a multiple of the horizontal gradient value with a multiple of the vertical gradient value to determine the edge direction. The multiples of the horizontal and vertical gradient values may be computed using bit shifting.  
           [0014]    In an embodiment, the sharpening unit is configured to apply sharpening to selected pixel values of the image block along the edge direction to produce an enhanced pixel of the pixel of the input image. In addition, the sharpening unit may be configured to apply smoothing to selected pixel values of the image block along a perpendicular direction of the edge direction to produce the enhanced pixel.  
           [0015]    In an embodiment, the system further includes a smoothing unit that is configured to smooth the pixel of the input image when an edge is not detected in the image block by the edge detector. The smoothing unit is further configured to apply smoothing to selected pixel values of the image block along two pre-selected perpendicular directions to produce a smoothed pixel of the pixel of the input image.  
           [0016]    Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrated by way of example of the principles of the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image enhancing system in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary 5×5 pixel image block of an input image.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 illustrates edge orientation indexes, which are used to classify the direction of a detected edge.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIGS. 4, 5,  6  and  7  illustrate the operation of an edge orientation computer of the image enhancing system of FIG. 1.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 8 is a diagram of a coefficient matrix, which is used to compute the horizontal gradient G x  of a current image block of an input image.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9 is a diagram of a coefficient matrix, which is used to compute the vertical gradient G y  of a current image block of an input image.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram of a method for enhancing an input image in accordance with the present invention 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0024]    With reference to FIG. 1, an image enhancing system  100  in accordance with the present invention is shown. The image enhancing system operates to selectively sharpen or smooth each pixel of an input digital image to enhance the quality of the image. Sharpening of a pixel of the input image is dependent on the direction of a detected edge within an image block about that pixel.  
         [0025]    The image enhancing system  100  includes a window sliding unit  102 , an edge detector  104 , an edge orientation computer  106 , a sharpening unit  108  and a smoothing unit  110 . Although the components  102 - 110  of the image enhancing system are illustrated and described as separate units, these components represent functional blocks, and consequently, may or may not be embodied in the form of physically separate units. Thus, two or more of these components may be combined into a single unit. Alternatively, some of these components may be divided into two or more units. Therefore, the image enhancing system may include fewer or more components than described and illustrated. In an exemplary embodiment, the components of the image enhancing system are embodied in an application specific integrated chip (ASIC) as hardware or in a read-only memory (ROM) as firmware. However, these components may be embodied in any combination of hardware, firmware and/or software.  
         [0026]    The window sliding unit  102  of the image enhancing system  100  operates to sequentially select image blocks of an input digital image for processing. Each image block corresponds to a pixel of the input digital image, which is situated at the center of that image block. The image blocks are selected by sliding a window of predefined size through every pixel of the input digital image, except for the pixels on the boundary of the input image where the window cannot be positioned within the input image. In an exemplary embodiment, the window sliding unit is configured to select 5×5 pixel image blocks of the input image. In FIG. 2, an exemplary 5×5 pixel image block  200  of an input image is shown. The image block  200  includes 25 pixels, which are referenced as p 0  to p 24 . These references are used herein to identify the pixels in a 5×5 pixel image block. The output of the window sliding unit are the selected image blocks of the input image, which are sequentially transmitted to the edge detector  104 .  
         [0027]    The edge detector  104  of the image enhancing system  100  operates to determine whether a current image block of an input image contains an edge, which would indicate that the corresponding pixel of the current image block is near the edge. The edge detector may utilize any known edge detection technique to make the determination. In an exemplary embodiment, the edge detector makes the edge determination by analyzing the maximum and minimum values within the current image block.  
         [0028]    The operation of the edge detection in accordance with the exemplary embodiment is now described. When a current image block of an input image is received, the maximum and minimum pixel values of the current image bock are determined. Next, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is computed. The computed difference is then compared to a threshold, which can be empirically defined. If the computed difference is greater than the threshold, then the pixel of the input image that corresponds to the current image block is considered to be near an edge, and the current image block is transmitted to the edge orientation computer  106  of the system. However, if the computed difference is not greater than the threshold, then the corresponding pixel is not considered to be near an edge, and the current image block is transmitted to the smoothing unit  110 .  
         [0029]    The edge orientation computer  106  of the image enhancing system  100  operates to determine the orientation of the detected edge within a current image block of an input image. The edge orientation computer uses the horizontal gradient G x  and the vertical gradient G y  of the current image block to determine the direction and the corresponding perpendicular direction of the detected edge. Edge direction is defined as the direction of the steepest slope in a 5×5 pixel image block, from a high value to a low value. The edge orientation computer identifies an edge direction by a pair of orientation indexes, which range from 0 to 15, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The orientation indexes represent sixteen evenly spaced angle regions of a 360-degree circle. Thus, each orientation index includes a 22.5-degree range. The orientation index “0” includes a range from 348.25 degrees to 12.25 degrees. Thus, the rest of the orientation indexes are defined by 22.5-degree increments from the orientation index “0” from either 12.25 or 348.25 degrees. The orientation indexes for the edge direction are referred herein as “shrp_idx1” and “shrp_idx2”. Similarly, the edge orientation computer identifies a perpendicular edge direction by a pair of orientation indexes, which are perpendicular to the pair of orientation indexes for the edge direction. For example, if an edge direction is represented the orientation indexes “3” and “11”, then the perpendicular edge direction is represented by the orientation indexes “7” and “15”. The orientation indexes for the perpendicular edge direction are referred herein as “smth_idx1” and “smth_ind2.  
         [0030]    The operation of the edge orientation computer  106  is now described with reference to the process flow diagram of FIGS. 4, 5,  6  and  7 . At steps  402  and  404 , the horizontal gradient G x  and the vertical gradient G y  of a current image block of an input image are calculated. Steps  402  and  404  can be sequentially performed. Alternatively, steps  402  and  404  can be performed in parallel. The horizontal gradient G x  is computed by using the coefficient matrix  802  shown in FIG. 8 to multiply the pixel values in a current image block with corresponding coefficients in the matrix  802  and then summing the products. The computation of the horizontal gradient G x  can be mathematically expressed as:  
         [0031]    G x =−2*p0−p1+p3+2*p4  
         [0032]    −2*p5−p6+p8+2*p9  
         [0033]    −2*p10−p11+p13+2*p14  
         [0034]    −2*p15−p16+p18+2*p19  
         [0035]    −2*p20−p21+p23+2*p24.  
         [0036]    Similarly, the vertical gradient G y  is computed by using the coefficient matrix  902  shown in FIG. 9 to multiply the pixel values in the current image block with corresponding coefficients in the matrix  902  and then summing the products. The computation of the vertical gradient G y  can be mathematically expressed as:  
         [0037]    G y =2*p0+2*p1+2*p2+2*p3+2*p4  
         [0038]    +p5+p6+p7+p8+p9  
         [0039]    −p15−p16−p17−p18−p19  
         [0040]    −2*p20−2*p21−2*p22−2*p23−2*p24  
         [0041]    In computing the horizontal and vertical gradients G x  and G y , the multiplication with coefficients of 2 can be realized by bit shifting. For example, if the pixel value of p0 is “16”, then this value is represented as “00010000” in an eight-bit binary format. By shifting the “1” bit one space to the left, the resulting binary number is “00100000”, which equals “32” or 2*p0. This technique can also be used for multiplication with coefficients other than 2. For example, by shifting the “1” bit two spaces to the left, the resulting binary number is “01000000”, which equals “64” or 4*p0.  
         [0042]    After the horizontal gradient G x  and the vertical gradient G y  are computed, the ratio between G x  and G y  is used to determine the edge direction. In particular, the arctangent of G x /G y  is used to classify the edge direction to one of the orientation indexes in the following described manner. At step  406 , a determination is made whether the computed G x  is equal to or greater than zero. If G x  is less than zero, then the operation proceeds to step  602 , which is shown in FIG. 6. However, if G x  is equal to or greater than zero, the operation proceeds to step  408 , at which another determination is made whether the computed G y  is equal to or greater than zero.  
         [0043]    If G y  is less than zero, the operation proceeds to step  502 , which is shown in FIG. 5. However, if G y  is equal to or greater than zero, the operation proceeds to step  410 , at which a comparison is made between 5*|G x | and |G y |. If 5*|G x | is less than |G y |, the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 0. Consequently, at step  412 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 0 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 8. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 4 and the smth_idx2 is set to 12. However, if 5*|G x | is not less than |G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  414 , at which a comparison is made between 1.5*|G x | and |G y |. If 1.5*|G x | is less than |G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 1. Consequently, at step  416 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 1 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 9. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 5 and the smth_idx2 is set to 13. However, if 1.5*|G x | is not less than |G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  418 , at which a comparison is made between |G x | and 1.5*|G y |. If |G x | is less than 1.5*|G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 2. Consequently, at step  420 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 2 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 10. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 6 and the smth_idx2 is set to 14. However, if |G x | is not less than 1.5*|G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  422 , at which a comparison is made between |G x | and 5*|G y | If |G x | is less than 5*|G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 3. Consequently, at step  424 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 3 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 11. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 7 and the smth_idx2 is set to 15. However, if |G x | is not less than 5*|G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  426 , at which the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 4. Consequently, the shrp_idx1 is set to 4 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 12. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 8 and the smth_idx2 is set to 0. The operation then comes to an end.  
         [0044]    As previously described, if G y  is determined to be less than zero at step  408 , then the operation proceeds to step  502  of FIG. 5. At step  502 , a comparison is made between 5*|G x | and |G y |. If 5*|G x | is less than |G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 8. Consequently, at step  504 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 8 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 0. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 12 and the smth_idx2 is set to 4. However, if 5*|G x | is not less than |G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  506 , at which a comparison is made between 1.5*|G x | and |G y |. If 1.5*|G x | is less than |G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 7. Consequently, at step  508 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 7 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 15. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 11 and the smth_idx2 is set to 3. However, if 1.5*|G x | is not less than |G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  510 , at which a comparison is made between |G x | and 1.5*|G y |. If |G x | is less than 1.5*|G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 6. Consequently, at step  512 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 6 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 14. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 10 and the smth_idx2 is set to 2. However, if |G x | is not less than 1.5*|G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  514 , at which a comparison is made between |G x | and 5*|G y |. If |G x | is less than 5*|G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 5. Consequently, at step  516 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 5 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 13. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 9 and the smth_idx2 is set to 1. However, if |G x | is not less than 5*|G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  518 , at which the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 4. Consequently, the shrp_idx1 is set to 4 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 12. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 8 and the smth_idx2 is set to 0. The operation then comes to an end.  
         [0045]    As described above, if G x  is determined to be less than zero at step  406  of FIG. 4, then the operation proceeds to step  602  of FIG. 6. At step  602 , a determination is made whether the G y  is equal to or greater than zero. If G y  is less than zero, then the operation proceeds to step  702 , which is shown in FIG. 7. However, if G y  is equal to or greater than zero, the operation proceeds to step  604 , at which a comparison is made between 5*|G x | and |G y |. If 5*|G x | is less than |G y |, the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 0. Consequently, at step  606 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 0 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 8. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 4 and the smth_idx2 is set to 12. However, if 5*|G x | is not less than |G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  608 , at which a comparison is made between 1.5*|G x | and |G y |. If 1.5*|G x | is less than |G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 15. Consequently, at step  610 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 15 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 7. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 3 and the smth_idx2 is set to 11. However, if 1.5*|G x | is not less than |G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  612 , at which a comparison is made between |G x ⊕ and 1.5*|G y |. If |G x | is less than 1.5*|G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 14. Consequently, at step  614 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 14 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 6. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 2 and the smth_idx2 is set to 10. However, if |G x | is not less than 1.5*|G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  616 , at which a comparison is made between |G x | and 5*|G y |. If |G x | is less than 5*|G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 13. Consequently, at step  618 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 13 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 5. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 1 and the smth_idx2 is set to 9. However, if |G x | is not less than 5*|G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  620 , at which the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 12. Consequently, the shrp_idx1 is set to 12 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 4. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 0 and the smth_idx2 is set to 8. The operation then comes to an end.  
         [0046]    As previously described, if G y  is determined to be less than zero at step  602  of FIG. 6, then the operation proceeds to step  702  of FIG. 7, at which a comparison is made between 5*|G x | and |G y |. If 5*|G x | is less than |G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 8. Consequently, at step  704 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 8 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 0. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 12 and the smth_idx2 is set to 4. However, if 5*|G x | is not less than |G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  706 , at which a comparison is made between 1.5*|G x | and |G y |. If 1.5*|G x | is less than |G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 9. Consequently, at step  708 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 9 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 1. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 13 and the smth_idx2 is set to 5. However, if 1.5*|G x | is not less than |G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  710 , at which a comparison is made between |G x | and 1.5*|G y |. If |G x | is less than 1.5*|G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 10. Consequently, at step  712 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 10 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 2. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 14 and the smth_idx2 is set to 6. However, if |G x | is not less than 1.5*|G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  714 , at which a comparison is made between |G x | and 5*|G y |. If |G x | is less than 5*|G y |, then the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 11. Consequently, at step  716 , the shrp_idx1 is set to 11 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 3. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 15 and the smth_idx2 is set to 7. However, if |G x | is not less than 5*|G y |, then the operation proceeds to step  718 , at which the edge direction is determined to fall within the angle region of the orientation index 12. Consequently, the shrp_idx1 is set to 12 and the shrp_idx2 is set to 4. In addition, the smth_idx1 is set to 0 and the smth_idx2 is set to 8. The operation then comes to an end.  
         [0047]    The determination of an edge direction can be summarized by the following table.  
                                                                                         5*|G x | &lt; |G y |   1.5*|G x | &lt; |G y |   |G x | &lt; 1.5*|G y |   |G x | &lt; 5*|G y |   else                                    G x  ≧ 0 &amp;   0   1   2   3   4       G y  ≧ 0       G x  ≧ 0 &amp;   8   7   6   5   4       G y  &lt; 0       G x  &lt; 0 &amp;   0   15   14   13   12       G y  ≧ 0       G x  &lt; 0 &amp;   8   9   10   11   12       G y  &lt; 0                  
 
         [0048]    Similar to the computations of G x  and G y , the comparisons of G x  and G y  can be accomplished by bit shifting. For example, comparing 5*|G x | with |G y | can be achieved by comparing 4*|G x |+|G x | with |G y |, in which the 4*|G x | is realized by bit shifting. As another example, comparing 1.5*|G x | with |G y | can be achieved by comparing 2*|G x |+|G x | with 21G y |, in which the 2|G x | and 2|G y | are realized by bit shifting.  
         [0049]    Turning back to FIG. 1, the sharpening unit  108  of the image enhancing system  100  operates to sharpen the pixel of an input image that corresponds to the current image block being processed. The sharpening is performed by applying smoothing to selected pixels of the current image block along the determined perpendicular edge direction of the current image block to derive a smoothing value and by applying sharpening to selected pixels of the current image block along the direction of the determined edge direction to derive a sharpening value. The smoothing and sharpening values are then averaged to produce the final value for the current pixel of the input image.  
         [0050]    The sharpening unit  108  derives the smoothing value by applying the following equation.  
         smoothing value=(− a 0+2* a 1+2* a 2−58* a 6+2* a 5+2 a 4 −a 3)/64.  
         [0051]    In addition, the sharpening unit derives the sharpening value by applying the following equation.  
         sharpening value=( b 0+2* b 1+2* b 2−2* b 5−2* b 4 −b 3+2 (shrp     —     factor)   *b 6)/2 (shrp     —     factor) .  
         [0052]    The variables a0, a1, a2, a3, a4, a5 and a6 in the smoothing value equation represent the selected pixels of the current image block to which the smoothing is applied. Similarly, the variables b0, b1, b2, b3, b4, b5 and b6 in the sharpening value equation represent the selected pixels of the current image block to which the sharpening is applied. The selected pixels represented by the variables a0, a1, a2, a3, a4, a5 and a6 depend on the two orientation indexes for the perpendicular edge direction. The selected pixels represented by the variables b0, b1, b2, b3, b4, b5 and b6 depend on the two orientation indexes for the edge direction. Thus, these variables change as the orientation indexes for the edge direction and the perpendicular edge direction are varied. The relationships between these variables and the orientation indexes are illustrated in the following table.  
                                                           shrp_idx1, shrp_idx2                                   smth_idx1,       smth_idx2   a0/b0   a1/b1   a2/b2   a3/b3   a4/b4   a5/b5   a6/b6                   0, 8   p2    p7    p7    p22   p17   p17   p12       1, 9   p3    p8    p7    p21   p16   p17   p12        2, 10   p4    p8    p8    p20   p16   p16   p12        3, 11   p9    p8    p13   p15   p16   p11   p12        4, 12   p14   p13   p13   p10   p11   p11   p12        5, 13   p19   p18   p13   p5    p6    p11   p12        6, 14   p24   p18   p18   p0    p6    p6    p12        7, 15   p23   p18   p17   p1    p6    p7    p12       8, 0   p22   p17   p17   p2    p7    p7    p12       9, 1   p21   p16   p17   p3    p8    p7    p12       10, 2    p20   p16   p16   p4    p8    p8    p12       11, 3    p15   p16   p11   p9    p8    p13   p12       12, 4    p10   p11   p11   p14   p13   p13   p12       13, 5    p5    p6    p11   p19   p18   p13   p12       14, 6    p0    p6    p6    p24   p18   p18   p12       15, 7    p1    p6    p7    p23   p18   p17   p12                  
 
         [0053]    Using the above table, if the orientation indexes for the edge direction, i.e., shrp_idx1 and shrp_idx2, are 3 and 11, respectively, then aO=p9, a1=p8, a2=p13, a3=p15, a4=p16, a5=p11 and a6=p12. Likewise, if the orientation indexes for the perpendicular edge direction, smth_idx1 and smth_idx2, are 3 and 11, then bO=p9, bl=p8, b2=p13, b3=p15, b4=p16, b5=p11 and b6=p12. The multiplications and divisions in these equations can again be realized by bit shifting.  
         [0054]    The shrp_factor term in the sharpening value equation determines the amount of sharpening performed by the sharpening unit  108  of the image enhancing system  100 . The shrp_factor term ranges from 1 to 5, depending on the amount of sharpening desired. The strongest level for the sharpening is when the shrp_factor is set to 1.  
         [0055]    The smoothing unit  110  of the image enhancing system  100  operates to smooth the pixel of an input image that corresponds to the current image block. The smoothing unit performs the smoothing operation using the same smoothing equation used by the sharpening unit  108  for two pre-selected perpendicular directions. For example, two perpendicular directions represented by the orientation indexes 3 and 11, and the orientation indexes 7 and 15 may be used as the pre-selected directions. Using the pre-selected directions, two smoothing values are computed and then averaged by the smoothing unit. The output of the smoothing unit is the averaged value of the two computed smoothing values.  
         [0056]    A method of enhancing an input image in accordance with the present invention is now described with reference to the flow diagram of FIG. 10. At step  1002 , the input image is received. Next, at step  1004 , an image block of the input image is selected to be processed. In the exemplary embodiment, the image block is a 5×5 pixel block. Next, at step  1006 , a determination is made whether the image block includes an edge. If the current image block includes an edge, the method proceeds to step  1008 , at which the edge orientation is determined. The edge orientation determination includes determining the direction of the edge and the corresponding perpendicular direction. Next, at step  1010 , a sharpening operation is performed on the current image block using the determined edge orientation to derive a final pixel value for the pixel that corresponds to the current image block.  
         [0057]    Returning to step  1006 , if the current image block is determined not to include an edge, the method proceeds to step  1012 , at which a smoothing operation is performed on the current image block using two pre-selected perpendicular directions to derive a different final pixel value.  
         [0058]    Next, at step  1014 , a determination is made whether the current image block is the last image block of the input image to be processed. If the current image block is not the last image block, the method proceeds back to step  1004 , at which the next image block to be processed is selected. The steps  1006 - 1014  are then repeated for this next image block. However, if the current image block is the last image block, the method comes to an end.  
         [0059]    In the above-described system and method, the edge detection and the edge orientation determination are conducted on the luminance channel of the Ycrcb color space. If the original image is an RGB image, then the luminance is derived from the red (R), green (G) and blue (B) channels using one of various combinations of R, G and B values. As an example, the following equation can be used to derive the luminance:  
         luminance=(2* R+ 5* G+B )/8.  
         [0060]    In contrast, the smoothing and sharpening operations are performed on each color channel of the RGB color space. Thus, the color space of the input image is converted from the Ycrcb color space to the RGB color space. However, the smoothing and sharpening operations may alternatively be conducted on the luminance channel. In this case, there is no need to convert the image from the Ycrcb color space to the RGB color space. In either case, if the input image is originally in the RGB color space, then the input image is initially converted to the Ycrcb color space.  
         [0061]    Although a specific embodiment of the invention have been described and illustrated, the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. The scope of the invention is to be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.