We propose a new approach for the direct estimation of the unwrapped phase from a single closed fringe pattern. The fringe analysis is performed along a given row/column at a time by approximating the phase with a weighted linear combination of linearly independent basis functions. Gaussian radial basis functions with equally distributed centers and a fixed variance are considered for the phase approximation. A state space model is defined with the weights of the basis functions as the state vector elements. Extended Kalman filter is effectively utilized for the accurate state estimation. A fringe density estimation based criteria is established to select whether the phase estimation is performed in a row by row or column by column manner. In the seed row/column decided based on this criteria, the optimal basis dimension is computed. The proposed method effectively renders itself in the simultaneous estimation of the phase and the phase derivative. The proposed phase modeling approach also allows us to successfully demodulate the low density fringe patterns. Simulation and experimental results validate the practical applicability of the proposed method. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.