Real-time color mapping system and method

Abstract

A real-time color mapping system includes a memory and a converting module. The memory is configured for storing a mapping table. The converting module is configured for reading the mapping table stored in the memory, and for converting first image grayscale values corresponding to a first image signal into second image grayscale values corresponding to a second image signal according to the mapping table. The converting module utilizes at least part of bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as a memory address to look up in the mapping table, thereby converting the first image grayscale values into the second image grayscale values. A real-time color mapping method is provided herein as well.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A real-time color mapping system, comprising:
 a memory configured to store a mapping table; and   a converting module configured to read the mapping table stored in the memory, and to convert a plurality of first image grayscale values corresponding to a first image signal into a plurality of second image grayscale values corresponding to a second image signal according to the mapping table, wherein the converting module utilizes at least part of bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as a memory address to look up in the mapping table, thereby converting the first image grayscale values into the second image grayscale values.   
     
     
         2 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 1 , wherein the converting module utilizes all of the bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table, thereby converting the first image grayscale values into the second image grayscale values. 
     
     
         3 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the first image grayscale values includes n first pixel grayscale values with different colors, and each of the n first pixel grayscale values is represented by m bits, and the converting module utilizes n×(m−i) bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table, where n>1 and m>i≧1. 
     
     
         4 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 3 , wherein the (m−i) bits corresponding to each of the n first pixel grayscale values are the highest (m−i) bits. 
     
     
         5 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 3 , wherein each of the second image grayscale values includes n corresponding second pixel grayscale values, and each of the n second pixel grayscale values is represented by m bits, and the converting module converts the n×(m−i) bits of each of the first image grayscale values into corresponding n×(m−i) bits of each of the second image grayscale values according to a look-up result. 
     
     
         6 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 5 , wherein the converting module is further configured to integrate n×i un-converted bits and the corresponding n×(m−i) converted bits of each of the first image grayscale values to generate the second image grayscale values. 
     
     
         7 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 5 , wherein the (m−i) bits corresponding to each of the n second pixel grayscale values are the highest (m−i) bits. 
     
     
         8 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 5 , wherein the lowest i bits of each of the n second pixel grayscale values are the same as the lowest i bits of each corresponding pixel grayscale value of the n first pixel grayscale values. 
     
     
         9 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 1 , wherein the converting module is further configured to determine whether any of the first image grayscale values to be converted is within an image grayscale value range; and
 when the first image grayscale value to be converted is not within the image grayscale value range, the converting module sets a corresponding second image grayscale value of the second image grayscale values to be the same as the first image grayscale value to be converted.   
     
     
         10 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 9 , wherein each of the first image grayscale values includes n first pixel grayscale values with different colors, and the converting module determines whether the first image grayscale value to be converted is within the image grayscale value range according to whether the n first pixel grayscale values of the first image grayscale value to be converted are within corresponding pixel grayscale value ranges. 
     
     
         11 . The real-time color mapping system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first storage unit electrically connected with the converting module, wherein the first storage unit is configured to store first image data of the first image signal, and the first image data comprise the first image grayscale values; and   a second storage unit electrically connected with the converting module, wherein the second storage unit is configured to store second image data of the second image signal, and the second image data comprise the second image grayscale values.   
     
     
         12 . A real-time color mapping method, comprising:
 reading a mapping table stored in a memory; and   utilizing at least part of bits corresponding to each of a plurality of first image grayscale values corresponding to a first image signal as a memory address to look up in the mapping table, thereby converting the first image grayscale values into a plurality of second image grayscale values corresponding to a second image signal.   
     
     
         13 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 12 , wherein the operation of utilizing the at least part of bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table utilizes all of the bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table. 
     
     
         14 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 12 , wherein each of the first image grayscale values includes n first pixel grayscale values with different colors, and each of the n first pixel grayscale values is represented by m bits, and the operation of utilizing the at least part of bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table utilizes n×(m−i) bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table, wherein n>1 and m>i≧1. 
     
     
         15 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 14 , wherein the (m−i) bits corresponding to each of the n first pixel grayscale values are the highest (m−i) bits. 
     
     
         16 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 14 , wherein each of the second image grayscale values includes n corresponding second pixel grayscale values, and each of the n second pixel grayscale values is represented by m bits, and the operation of utilizing the n×(m−i) bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table to convert the first image grayscale values into the second image grayscale values further comprises:
 converting the n×(m−i) bits of each of the first image grayscale values into corresponding n×(m−i) bits of each of the second image grayscale values according to a look-up result. 
 
     
     
         17 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 16 , wherein the operation of utilizing the n×(m−i) bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table to convert the first image grayscale values into the second image grayscale values further comprises:
 integrating n×i un-converted bits and the corresponding n×(m−i) converted bits of each of the first image grayscale values to generate the second image grayscale values. 
 
     
     
         18 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 16 , wherein the (m−i) bits corresponding to each of the n second pixel grayscale values are the highest (m−i) bits. 
     
     
         19 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 16 , wherein the lowest i bits of each of the n second pixel grayscale values are the same as the lowest i bits of each corresponding pixel grayscale value of the n first pixel grayscale values. 
     
     
         20 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 12 , wherein the operation of utilizing the at least part of bits corresponding to each of the first image grayscale values as the memory address to look up in the mapping table to convert the first image grayscale values into the second image grayscale values further comprises:
 determining whether any of the first image grayscale values to be converted is within an image grayscale value range, wherein   when the first image grayscale value to be converted is not within the image grayscale value range, a corresponding second image grayscale value of the second image grayscale values is set to be the same as the first image grayscale value to be converted.   
     
     
         21 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 20 , wherein each of the first image grayscale values includes n different-color first pixel grayscale values, and the operation of determining whether the first image grayscale value to be converted is within the image grayscale value range is performed according to whether the n first pixel grayscale values of the first image grayscale value to be converted are within corresponding pixel grayscale value ranges. 
     
     
         22 . The real-time color mapping method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 utilizing a first storage unit to store first image data of the first image signal, wherein the first image data comprise the first image grayscale values; and   utilizing a second storage unit to store second image data of the second image signal, wherein the second image data comprise the second image grayscale values.