Patent ID: 6856704

Claim:
A digital image processing method for enhancing a color digital image composed of a plurality of pixels having color values representative of the image, said method comprising the steps of: a) identifying a local neighborhood of pixels including a pixel of interest; b) using the color values of one or more of the pixels from the local neighborhood to calculate a color weighting factor for the pixel of interest, the color weighting factor being a near continuous function of the location of said one or more pixels in a color space; c) applying a spatial filter to the values of pixels from the local neighborhood to calculate a first signal value and a second signal value for the pixel of interest; d) using the color weighting factor to modify the first signal value; e) generating an enhanced pixel value for the pixel of interest from the modified first signal value and the second signal value; and f) repeating steps (a) through (e) for other pixels in the color digital image.