Apparatus for analysing the connectivity of pixels in a raster scanned image frame

Claim 1

A method for analysing the connectivity of pixels in a raster-scanned image frame in a sequential manner utilising a predetermined fixed priority rule, comprising the steps of: analysing the connectivity of each component in the image by assessing the colour match of each component with respect to its causal neighbours within a fixed-size window; labelling each analysed component such that the same label is assigned to each component within a maximally connected group of components within the frame, any given component being labelled according to the fixed priority rule in the event that at least two causal neighbours have the same colour match; and in frame boundary fixed-size windows having undefined neighbour components, substituting the inverse colour value of the component being labelled in the places of said undefined neighbour components.

Claim 2

A method for analysing the connectivity of pixels in a raster-scanned image frame in a sequential manner utilising a predetermined fixed priority rule, comprising the steps of: analysing the connectivity of each component in the image by assessing the colour match of each component with respect to its causal neighbours within a fixed-size window; labelling each analysed component such that the same label is assigned to each component within a maximally connected group of components within the frame, any given component being labelled according to the fixed priority rule in the event that at least two causal neighbours have the same colour match; and in frame boundary fixed-size windows having undefined neighbour components, substituting the inverse colour value of the component being labelled in the places of said undefined neighbour components.

Claim 4

An apparatus for analysing the connectivity of pixels in a raster-scanned image frame in a sequential manner utilising a predetermined priority rule, comprising: window register means responsive to a sequence of colour-valued pixels that form a raster-scanned image frame for associating each pixel in said sequence to causal pixel neighbours by a fixed-size window containing the pixel and its causal neighbours; labelling means responsive to each fixed-size window for analysing the connectivity of each pixel to other pixels in the sequence based upon the colour value match of the pixel with respect to its causal neighbours and for labelling each pixel such that the same label is assigned to each pixel within a maximally connected group of pixels within the image frame, with any given pixel being labelled according to the fixed priority rule in the event that at least two of its causal neighbours have the same colour value; and value substitution means connected between said window means and said labelling means and responsive to fixed size windows adjacent the boundaries of said image frame for substituting the inverted colour value of a pixel being labelled in the places of its undefined pixel neighbours.

Claim 5

An apparatus for analysing the connectivity of pixels in a raster-scanned image frame in a sequential manner utilising a predetermined priority rule, comprising: window register means responsive to a sequence of colour-valued pixels that form a raster-scanned image frame for associating each pixel in said sequence to causal pixel neighbours by a fixed-size window containing the pixel and its causal neighbours; labelling means responsive to each fixed-size window for analysing the connectivity of each pixel to other pixels in the sequence based upon the colour value match of the pixel with respect to its causal neighbours and for labelling each pixel such that the same label is assigned to each pixel within a maximally connected group of pixels within the image frame, with any given pixel being labelled according to the fixed priority rule in the event that at least two of its causal neighbours have the same colour value; and value substitution means connected between said window means and said labelling means and responsive to fixed size windows adjacent the boundaries of said image frame for substituting the inverted colour value of a pixel being labelled in the places of its undefined pixel neighbours.