Patent ID: 7586540

Claim:
An image interpolation device that generates an interpolation frame to be interpolated between an immediately previous frame of an image signal and a current frame thereof, the image interpolation device comprising: a candidate interpolation pixel vector calculation unit which defines, as pixel pairs, a set of pixels belonging to the immediately previous frame and the current frame and point-symmetrical to one another with respect to an interpolation position within the interpolation frame, calculates differential luminance values of the individual pixels within the pixel pairs, defines a desired number of pixel pairs in normal ascending order of the smallest absolute differential value, as candidate interpolation pixel pairs, and further calculates pixel position information of the candidate interpolation pixel pairs, as interpolation pixel vectors; an edge detection unit which detects edge information from the immediately previous frame and the current frame; a candidate interpolation pixel vector determination unit which, on the basis of the edge information, selects, as interpolation pixel pairs, only the candidate interpolation pixel pairs that satisfy required edge conditions, among all candidate interpolation pixel pairs that have been detected by the candidate interpolation pixel vector calculation unit; and an interpolation frame-generating unit which generates interpolation pixels associated with the interpolation position, by using interpolation pixel vectors of the interpolation pixel pairs that have been selected by the interpolation pixel vector determination unit, and thus generates an interpolation frame formed up of the interpolation pixels.