Patent Document ID: 4769702
Application ID: 07018193
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for compressing a digital image made up of pixels by assembling said pixels into classes, said method comprising, sequentially testing said pixels as follows, (i) if the distance (d) between the pixel being texted and the nearest identifying value (U.sub.i) of an already existing class is less than a parameter (S), inserting the pixel being tested into the class characterized by the nearest identifying value (U.sub.i), (ii) if the distance (d) between the pixel being tested and the nearest identifying value (U.sub.i) is larger than the parameter S and the number of classes is less than a predetermined number, forming a new class for said pixel, (iii) if the distance (d) between the pixel being tested and the nearest identifying value (U.sub.i) is larger than the parameter S and the number of classes is equal to said predetermined number, incrementing the parameter S and retesting the previously tested pixels.