Interpolation processing apparatus and recording medium having interpolation processing program recorded therein

Claim 2

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates two types of similarity components along each of a plurality of directions, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component”, for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then calculates similarity degrees based upon said two types of similarity components; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates said interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of said judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 3

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit calculates at least three types of similarity components along each of the plurality of directions, including at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, and calculates said similarity degrees based upon said at least three types of similarity components.

Claim 4

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates at least two types of similarity components along each of a plurality of directions including (a) a “similarity component obtained by using color information at a vacancy that outputs color information corresponding to a color component different from a color component of said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and (b) at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then calculates similarity degrees based upon said at least two types of similarity components; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 5

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates at least two types of similarity components along each of a plurality of directions including (a) a “similarity component obtained by using color information at a vacancy that outputs color information corresponding to a color component different from a color component of said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and (b) at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then calculates similarity degrees based upon said at least two types of similarity components; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 6

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit, wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit calculates at least two types of similarity components along each of the plurality of directions including (a) a “similarity component obtained by using color information output from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and (b) at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone, and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then calculates similarity degrees based upon said at least two types of similarity components; and said “similarity component obtained by using color information from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” is calculated through “a 1 |G 1 −A 2 |+a 2 |G 3 −A 2 |” in which G 1 and G 3 represent color information at two lattice points set on a single straight line with said interpolation target vacancy located in between, A 2 represents the color information at said interpolation target vacancy and a 1 and a 2 each represent a constant with at least either a 1 or a 2 not equal to 0.

Claim 7

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit, wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit calculates at least two types of similarity components along each of the plurality of directions including (a) a “similarity component obtained by using color information output from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and (b) at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone, and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then calculates similarity degrees based upon said at least two types of similarity components; and said “similarity component obtained by using color information from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” is calculated through “a 1 |G 1 −A 2 |+a 2 |G 3 −A 2 |” in which G 1 and G 3 represent color information at two lattice points set on a single straight line with said interpolation target vacancy located in between, A 2 represents the color information at said interpolation target vacancy and a 1 and a 2 each represent a constant with at least either a 1 or a 2 not equal to 0.

Claim 8

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit calculates said similarity degrees for said interpolation target vacancy along the plurality of directions by combining a plurality of types of similarity components obtained along each of the plurality of directions through weighted addition of similarity components performed along each direction.

Claim 9

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an-image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates at least two types of similarity degrees among a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color component”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone” as similarity degrees along a plurality of directions manifesting at an interpolation target vacancy, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation to undergo said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity relative to said interpolation target vacancy by comparing, along each direction, similarity degrees of a single type among a plurality of types of similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated for said interpolation target vacancy by said similarity degree calculation unit, determining a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for each type of similarity degree and ascertaining a direction being in a majority of directions manifesting pronounced similarity; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 10

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an-image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates at least two types of similarity degrees among a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color component”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone” as similarity degrees along a plurality of directions manifesting at an interpolation target vacancy, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation to undergo said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity relative to said interpolation target vacancy by comparing, along each direction, similarity degrees of a single type among a plurality of types of similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated for said interpolation target vacancy by said similarity degree calculation unit, determining a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for each type of similarity degree and ascertaining a direction being in a majority of directions manifesting pronounced similarity; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 11

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates at least one type of similarity component among two types of similarity components, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information from an interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone” as similarity components along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon color information output from said interpolation target vacancy undergoing said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and calculates similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said at least one type of similarity component; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit, wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit extracts characteristics of an image over an area surrounding said interpolation target vacancy and calculates one type of similarity component selected in conformance to the characteristics among said two types of similarity components as said similarity degree, or calculates said similarity degree by calculating said two types of similarity components and performing weighted addition of the calculated two types of similarity components while is adjusting a weighting ratio in correspondence to said characteristics.

Claim 12

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates at least one type of similarity component among two types of similarity components, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information from an interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone” as similarity components along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon color information output from said interpolation target vacancy undergoing said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and calculates similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said at least one type of similarity component; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit, wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit extracts characteristics of an image over an area surrounding said interpolation target vacancy and calculates one type of similarity component selected in conformance to the characteristics among said two types of similarity components as said similarity degree, or calculates said similarity degree by calculating said two types of similarity components and performing weighted addition of the calculated two types of similarity components while is adjusting a weighting ratio in correspondence to said characteristics.

Claim 13

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates at least one type of similarity component among two types of similarity components, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information from an interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone” as similarity components along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon color information output from said interpolation target vacancy undergoing said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and calculates similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said at least one type of similarity component; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit; and an interface unit that receives a first instruction indicating which of said two types of similarity components is to be calculated or a second instruction indicating a weighting rate to be used when performing weighted addition of said two types of similarity components, wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit calculates one type of similarity component as indicated by said first instruction as said similarity degree when said first instruction has been received at said interface unit, and calculates said similarity degrees through weighted addition of said two types of similarity components implemented in response to said second instruction when said second instruction has been received at said interface unit.

Claim 14

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates at least one type of similarity component among two types of similarity components, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information from an interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone” as similarity components along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon color information output from said interpolation target vacancy undergoing said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and calculates similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said at least one type of similarity component; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation unit; an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy in conformance to results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit; and an interface unit that receives a first instruction indicating which of said two types of similarity components is to be calculated or a second instruction indicating a weighting rate to be used when performing weighted addition of said two types of similarity components, wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit calculates one type of similarity component as indicated by said first instruction as said similarity degree when said first instruction has been received at said interface unit, and calculates said similarity degrees through weighted addition of said two types of similarity components implemented in response to said second instruction when said second instruction has been received at said interface unit.

Claim 15

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit calculates said “similarity degrees obtained by using color information from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” when the characteristics of the image in the area around said interpolation target vacancy indicate that sets of color information from a plurality of lattice points set along a first direction among two directions intersecting at a right angle at said interpolation target vacancy are highly similar, that sets of color information from a plurality of lattice points set along a second direction among the two directions are highly similar and that the color information from lattice points set along the first direction is greatly different from the color information from lattice points set along the second direction.

Claim 16

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: said similarity degree calculation unit calculates said similarity degrees for said interpolation target vacancy by using a similarity component calculated on a vacancy located near said interpolation target vacancy.

Claim 17

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: said similarity judgment unit makes a decision as to whether or not a difference between similarity degrees along individual directions exceeds a specific threshold value and judges that roughly equal similarity degrees manifest along the directions if the difference does not exceed said threshold value.

Claim 18

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: when said similarity judgment unit judges that one of the plurality of directions manifests pronounced similarity, said interpolation quantity calculation unit calculates an average of values indicated by color information from two lattice points set along the direction manifesting pronounced similarity as the interpolation quantity, whereas when said similarity judgment unit judges that similarity degrees manifested along the plurality of directions are close to each other, said interpolation quantity calculation unit ascertains an interpolation quantity through another method without calculating an average of values indicated by color information from two lattice points set along one of the plurality of directions.

Claim 19

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which two types of similarity components along each of a plurality of directions, which are a similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component”, are calculated for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then similarity degrees are calculated based upon said two types of similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated in said similarity degree calculation step; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 20

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which two types of similarity components along each of a plurality of directions, which are a similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component”, are calculated for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then similarity degrees are calculated based upon said two types of similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated in said similarity degree calculation step; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 21

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which at least two types of similarity components along each of a plurality of directions including (a) a “similarity component obtained by using color information at a vacancy that outputs color information corresponding to a color component different from a color component of said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and (b) at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone, and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, are calculated for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then similarity degrees are calculated based upon said at least two types of similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation step; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 22

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which at least two types of similarity components along each of a plurality of directions including (a) a “similarity component obtained by using color information at a vacancy that outputs color information corresponding to a color component different from a color component of said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and (b) at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone, and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, are calculated for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then similarity degrees are calculated based upon said at least two types of similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation step; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 23

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which similarity degrees along a plurality of directions are calculated for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation step; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step, wherein: in said similarity degree calculation step at least two types of similarity components are calculated along the plurality of directions including (a) a “similarity component obtained by using color information output from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” (b) at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then the similarity degrees are calculated based upon said at least two types of similarity components; and said “similarity component obtained by using color information from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” calculated through “a 1 |G 1 −A 2 |+a 2 |G 3 −A 2 |” in which G 1 and G 3 represent color information at two lattice points set on a single straight line with said interpolation target vacancy located in between, A 2 represents color information at said interpolation target vacancy and a 1 and a 2 each represent a constant with at least either a 1 or a 2 not equal to 0.

Claim 24

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which similarity degrees along a plurality of directions are calculated for an interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated by said similarity degree calculation step; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step, wherein: in said similarity degree calculation step at least two types of similarity components are calculated along the plurality of directions including (a) a “similarity component obtained by using color information output from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” (b) at least one type of similarity component among a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone”, based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy, and then the similarity degrees are calculated based upon said at least two types of similarity components; and said “similarity component obtained by using color information from said interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” calculated through “a 1 |G 1 −A 2 |+a 2 |G 3 −A 2 |” in which G 1 and G 3 represent color information at two lattice points set on a single straight line with said interpolation target vacancy located in between, A 2 represents color information at said interpolation target vacancy and a 1 and a 2 each represent a constant with at least either a 1 or a 2 not equal to 0.

Claim 25

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which at least two types of similarity degrees among a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color component”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone” are calculated as similarity degrees along a plurality of directions manifesting at an interpolation target vacancy based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity relative to said interpolation target vacancy by comparing, along each direction, similarity degrees of a single type among a plurality of types of similarity degrees calculated along the plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy in said similarity degree calculation step, determining a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for each type of similarity degree and ascertaining a direction being in a majority of directions manifesting pronounced similarity; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 26

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which at least two types of similarity degrees among a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color component”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone”, a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone” and a “similarity degree obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone” are calculated as similarity degrees along a plurality of directions manifesting at an interpolation target vacancy based upon color information corresponding to the first through third color components output from said interpolation target vacancy to undergo said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies near said interpolation target vacancy; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity relative to said interpolation target vacancy by comparing, along each direction, similarity degrees of a single type among a plurality of types of similarity degrees calculated along the plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy in said similarity degree calculation step, determining a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for each type of similarity degree and ascertaining a direction being in a majority of directions manifesting pronounced similarity; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 27

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which at least one type of similarity components among two types of similarity components, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information from an interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone” is calculated as similarity components along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon color information output from said interpolation target vacancy undergoing said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies set near said interpolation target vacancy, and similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy are calculated based upon said at least one type of similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy is judged based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated in said similarity degree calculation step; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step, wherein: in said similarity degree calculation step, characteristics of an image over an area surrounding said interpolation target vacancy is extracted, and one type of similarity component selected in conformance to the characteristics among said two types of similarity components is calculated as said similarity degrees, or said similarity degrees are calculated by calculating two types of similarity degrees and performing weighted addition of said two types of similarity components while adjusting a weighting ratio in correspondence to said characteristics.

Claim 28

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which at least one type of similarity components among two types of similarity components, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information from an interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone” is calculated as similarity components along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon color information output from said interpolation target vacancy undergoing said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies set near said interpolation target vacancy, and similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy are calculated based upon said at least one type of similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy is judged based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated in said similarity degree calculation step; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step, wherein: in said similarity degree calculation step, characteristics of an image over an area surrounding said interpolation target vacancy is extracted, and one type of similarity component selected in conformance to the characteristics among said two types of similarity components is calculated as said similarity degrees, or said similarity degrees are calculated by calculating two types of similarity degrees and performing weighted addition of said two types of similarity components while adjusting a weighting ratio in correspondence to said characteristics.

Claim 29

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which at least one type of similarity components among two types of similarity components, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information from an interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone” is calculated as similarity components along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon color information output from said interpolation target vacancy undergoing said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies set near said interpolation target vacancy, and similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy are calculated based upon said at least one type of similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy is judged based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated in said similarity degree calculation step; an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step; and an interface step in which a first instruction indicating which of said two types of similarity components is to be calculated is received or a second instruction indicating a weighting rate to be used when performing weighted addition of said two types of similarity components is received, wherein: in said similarity degree calculation step, one type of similarity component is calculated as indicated by said first instruction as said similarity degrees when said first instruction has been received in said interface step, and said similarity degrees are calculated through weighted addition of said two types of similarity components implemented in response to said second instruction when said second instruction has been received in said interface step.

Claim 30

A recording medium having recorded therein an interpolation processing program for enabling a computer to execute interpolation processing on an image generated by an image-capturing sensor constituted by two-dimensionally arraying a plurality of lattice points each of which outputs color information corresponding to a first color component and a plurality of vacancies each of which outputs color information corresponding to a second color component or a third color component instead of outputting color information corresponding to the first color component, to determine an interpolation quantity equivalent to color information corresponding to the first color component for a vacancy, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which at least one type of similarity components among two types of similarity components, which are a “similarity component obtained by using color information from an interpolation target vacancy and color information corresponding to the first color component” and a “similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone” is calculated as similarity components along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy based upon color information output from said interpolation target vacancy undergoing said interpolation processing and lattice points and vacancies set near said interpolation target vacancy, and similarity degrees along a plurality of directions for said interpolation target vacancy are calculated based upon said at least one type of similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made with respect to a direction manifesting pronounced similarity for said interpolation target vacancy is judged based upon said similarity degrees along the plurality of directions calculated in said similarity degree calculation step; an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for said interpolation target vacancy is calculated in conformance to results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step; and an interface step in which a first instruction indicating which of said two types of similarity components is to be calculated is received or a second instruction indicating a weighting rate to be used when performing weighted addition of said two types of similarity components is received, wherein: in said similarity degree calculation step, one type of similarity component is calculated as indicated by said first instruction as said similarity degrees when said first instruction has been received in said interface step, and said similarity degrees are calculated through weighted addition of said two types of similarity components implemented in response to said second instruction when said second instruction has been received in said interface step.

Claim 31

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” calculated with a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 32

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” calculated with a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 33

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit calculates a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of one or more color components and calculates said each of similarity degrees by using said same-color similarity component together with said different-color similarity component.

Claim 34

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using color information corresponding to three different color components and a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 35

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using color information corresponding to three different color components and a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 36

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using color information corresponding to three different components and a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 37

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using color information corresponding to three different components and a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 38

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions-relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of three color components, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and by utilizing the similarity components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 39

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions-relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of three color components, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and by utilizing the similarity components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 40

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” for each of three color components, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of two or more color components and by utilizing the similarity components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 41

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” for each of three color components, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of two or more color components and by utilizing the similarity components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 42

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components” and a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels”; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 43

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components” and a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels”; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 44

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels” for each of two or more color components, and by performing weighted addition of said same-color similarity components; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 45

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels” for each of two or more color components, and by performing weighted addition of said same-color similarity components; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 46

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a color component different from the color component of the interpolation target pixel and the first color component and color information corresponding to the first color component”; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 47

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a color component different from the color component of the interpolation target pixel and the first color component and color information corresponding to the first color component”; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 48

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a “similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to information related to color of an image over an area surrounding the interpolation target pixel, the information related to color of the image being obtained in consideration of directions within the image; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 49

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a “similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to information related to color of an image over an area surrounding the interpolation target pixel, the information related to color of the image being obtained in consideration of directions within the image; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 50

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit calculates the similarity degrees manifesting at the interpolation target pixel by incorporating similarity components calculated for pixels located around the interpolation target pixel as well as the similarity components calculated for the interpolation target pixel.

Claim 51

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component for a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” calculated with a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 52

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component for a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components which are first˜third color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” calculated with a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 53

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” calculated with a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 54

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” calculated with a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 55

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 31 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit calculates a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of one or more color components and calculates said each of similarity degrees by using said same-color similarity component together with said different-color similarity component.

Claim 56

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using color information corresponding to three or more different color components and a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 57

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using color information corresponding to three or more different color components and a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 58

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using color information corresponding to three or more different components and a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 59

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing by using color information corresponding to three or more different components and a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 60

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of three or more color components, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and by utilizing the similarity components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 61

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of three or more color components, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and by utilizing the similarity components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 62

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” for each of three or more color components, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of two or more color components and by utilizing the similarity color components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 63

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” for each of three or more color components, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of two or more color components and by utilizing the similarity color components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 64

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components” and a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels”; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 65

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components” and a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels”; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 66

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels” for each of two or more color components, and by performing weighted addition of said same-color similarity component; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 67

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels” for each of two or more color components, and by performing weighted addition of said same-color similarity component; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 68

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a color component different from the color component of the interpolation target pixel and the first color component and color information corresponding to the first color component”; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 69

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a color component different from the color component of the interpolation target pixel and the first color component and color information corresponding to the first color component”; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 70

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “different-color similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a “same-color similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to information related to color of an image over a local area containing the interpolation target pixel, the information related to color of the image being obtained in consideration of directions within the image; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 71

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “different-color similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a “same-color similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to information related to color of an image over a local area containing the interpolation target pixel, the information related to color of the image being obtained in consideration of directions within the image; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit.

Claim 72

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 40 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit calculates the similarity degrees manifesting at the interpolation target pixel by incorporating similarity components calculated for pixels located around the interpolation target pixel as well as the similarity components calculated for the interpolation target pixel.

Claim 73

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “different-color similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a “same-color similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to characteristics of an image over a local area containing the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit, wherein when the plurality of pixels that output color information corresponding to the first˜nth (n≧2) color components different from each other output color information corresponding to the first˜the third color components different from each other and the first color component achieves a higher spatial frequency compared to the second color component and the third color component, said similarity degree calculation unit calculates, as the different-color similarity degrees, similarity degrees each containing at least one of (1) a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color information, and (2) a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component, and calculates, as the same-color similarity degrees, similarity degrees each containing at least one of (1) a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone, (2) a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone, and (3) the same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone.

Claim 74

An interpolation processing apparatus that performs interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, comprising: a similarity degree calculation unit that calculates each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “different-color similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a “same-color similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to characteristics of an image over a local area containing the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment unit that makes a judgment on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation unit that calculates an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel based upon results of the judgment made by said similarity judgment unit, wherein when the plurality of pixels that output color information corresponding to the first˜nth (n≧2) color components different from each other output color information corresponding to the first˜the third color components different from each other and the first color component achieves a higher spatial frequency compared to the second color component and the third color component, said similarity degree calculation unit calculates, as the different-color similarity degrees, similarity degrees each containing at least one of (1) a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color information, and (2) a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component, and calculates, as the same-color similarity degrees, similarity degrees each containing at least one of (1) a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone, (2) a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone, and (3) the same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone.

Claim 75

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 42 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit uses information related to color as characteristics of the image in the local area containing the interpolation target pixel.

Claim 76

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 40 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit makes a decision as to whether the image over the local area is an achromatic image or a chromatic image in reference to said information related to color, and if the image in the local area is achromatic, said similarity degree calculation unit selects said different-color similarity degree as similarity degrees along a plurality of directions relative to the interpolation target pixel or sets a weighting coefficient for said different-color similarity degree to be used in weighted addition of said different-color similarity degree and said same-color similarity degree higher than a weighting coefficient for said same-color similarity degree, whereas if the image in the local area is chromatic, said similarity degree calculation unit selects said same-color similarity degree as similarity degrees along the plurality of directions relative to the interpolation target pixel or sets the weighting coefficient for said same-color similarity degree to be used in weighted addition of said different-color similarity degree and said same-color similarity degree higher than the weighting coefficient for said different-color similarity degree.

Claim 77

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 40 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit uses said different-color similarity degree as the information related to color.

Claim 78

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 45 , wherein if said different-color similarity degrees indicate pronounced similarity along, at least, one direction, said similarity degree calculation unit determines the image over the local area to be an achromatic image, and said similarity degree calculation unit determines the image in the local area to be a chromatic image otherwise.

Claim 79

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 40 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit calculates said different-color similarity degree by using color information from pixels present over shorter intervals compared to pixels that output the color information used to calculate said same-color similarity degree.

Claim 80

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 42 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit uses, as said similarity degrees along a plurality of directions relative to the interpolation target pixel, similarity degrees along a plurality of directions calculated for pixels around the interpolation target pixel as well as for the interpolation target pixel.

Claim 81

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 40 , wherein said similarity degree calculation unit determines that essentially equal degrees of similarity manifest along a plurality of directions if differences of similarity degrees along the plurality of directions are smaller than a specific threshold value.

Claim 82

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” calculated with a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 83

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” calculated with a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 84

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated by using color information corresponding to three or more different color components and a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 85

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated by using color information corresponding to three or more different color components and a “similarity degree element constituted of color information from three or fewer pixels”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 86

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated by using color information corresponding to three or more different components and a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 87

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along at least two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated by using color information corresponding to three or more different components and a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components”, based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 88

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of three or more color components, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and by utilizing the similarity components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 89

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of three or more color components, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and by utilizing the similarity components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 90

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” for each of three or more color components, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of two or more color components and by utilizing the similarity color components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 91

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” for each of three or more color components, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component” for each of two or more color components and by utilizing the similarity color components in combination with each other; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 92

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components” and a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels”; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 93

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to two different color components” and a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels”; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 94

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels” for each of two or more color components, and by performing weighted addition of said same-color similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 95

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by calculating a “same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component calculated with a similarity degree element constituted of color information from two pixels” for each of two or more color components, and by performing weighted addition of said same-color similarity components; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 96

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a color component different from the color component of the interpolation target pixel and the first color component and color information corresponding to the first color component”; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 97

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧3) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, by using a “different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a color component different from the color component of the interpolation target pixel and the first color component and color information corresponding to the first color component”; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 98

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “different-color similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a same-color similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to information related to color of an image over a local area containing the interpolation target pixel, the information related to color of the image being obtained in consideration of directions within the image; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 99

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “different-color similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a same-color similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to information related to color of an image over a local area containing the interpolation target pixel, the information related to color of the image being obtained in consideration of directions within the image; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step.

Claim 100

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 28 , wherein the information related to color of the image is obtained along at least two directions relative to the interpolation target pixel by using color information corresponding to different color components.

Claim 101

An interpolation processing apparatus according to claim 40 , wherein the information related to color of the image is obtained along at least two directions relative to the interpolation target pixel by using color information corresponding to different color components.

Claim 102

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “different-color similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a “same-color similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to characteristics of an image over a local area containing the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step, wherein in said similarity degree calculation step, when the plurality of pixels that output color information corresponding to the first˜nth (n≧2) color components different from each other output color information corresponding to the first˜the third color components different from each other and the first color component achieves a higher spatial frequency compared to the second color component and the third color component: there are calculated, as the different-color similarity degrees, similarity degrees each containing at least one of (1) a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color information, and (2) a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component; and there are calculated, as the same-color similarity degrees, similarity degrees each containing at least one of (1) a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone, (2) a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone, and (3) the same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone.

Claim 103

A recording medium having an interpolation processing program for performing interpolation to obtain color information corresponding to a first color component of a pixel, in which the first color component is missing, of an image-capturing sensor having a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a two-dimensional array and output color information corresponding to different color components, which are first˜nth (n≧2) color components, each of the plurality of pixels outputting color information corresponding to a single color component, said interpolation processing program comprising: a similarity degree calculation step in which each of similarity degrees along, at least, two directions relative to an interpolation target pixel to undergo interpolation processing is calculated based upon color information at a plurality of pixels selected from the interpolation target pixel and pixels near the interpolation target pixel, for each of two types of similarity degrees, which are a “different-color similarity degree containing a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to different color components” and a “same-color similarity degree containing a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to a single color component”, by switching to either type of similarity degrees or switching weighting ratios to be used in weighted addition of the similarity degrees in correspondence to characteristics of an image over a local area containing the interpolation target pixel; a similarity judgment step in which a judgment is made on degrees of similarity along the individual directions based upon said similarity degrees; and an interpolation quantity calculation step in which an interpolation quantity for the interpolation target pixel is calculated based upon results of the judgment made in said similarity judgment step, wherein in said similarity degree calculation step, when the plurality of pixels that output color information corresponding to the first˜nth (n≧2) color components different from each other output color information corresponding to the first˜the third color components different from each other and the first color component achieves a higher spatial frequency compared to the second color component and the third color component: there are calculated, as the different-color similarity degrees, similarity degrees each containing at least one of (1) a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the second color information, and (2) a different-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component and color information corresponding to the third color component; and there are calculated, as the same-color similarity degrees, similarity degrees each containing at least one of (1) a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the first color component alone, (2) a same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the second color component alone, and (3) the same-color similarity component obtained by using color information corresponding to the third color component alone.