A segmenting section divides an input image into a plurality of segments. A hierarchizing section determines classes of the respective segments according to a predetermined criterion, and produces a class identification signal indicating the classes of the respective segments. A coding section encodes...http://www.google.com.tw/patents/US6798834?utm_source=gb-gplus-share專利 US6798834 - Image coding apparatus with segment classification and segmentation-type motion prediction circuit
