Patent Document ID: 8189054
Application ID: 11300683
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of motion estimation for processing successive images in an image sequence, a motion vector being associated with each of the processed images, the method comprising the steps of: selecting i motion vectors associated with i images that precede a current image in the image sequence, i being an integer that is greater than 1; generating, by a processor, candidate motion vectors from the motion vectors that are selected; electing a motion vector from among the candidate motion vectors; and storing information that associates the elected motion vector with the current image, wherein in the generating step, at least one of the candidate motion vectors that is generated is an acceleration vector that is generated from an acceleration between a first averaged motion vector for a first image and a second averaged motion vector for a second image, the first averaged motion vector is a motion vector generated from motion vectors associated with a plurality of images that precede the first image, the second averaged motion vector is a motion vector generated from motion vectors associated with a plurality of images that precede the second image, in the generating step, the acceleration between the first averaged motion vector and the second averaged motion vector is the difference between the first averaged motion vector and the second averaged motion vector, the first and second images are distinct and precede the current image in the image sequence, and the averaged motion vector for image N is V av (N) and is given by the following equation: V av ⁡ ( N ) = [ ∑ k = 1 i ⁢ V ⁡ ( N - k ) + 2 ] ⪢ 2.