EP0358911A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Image recognition audience measurement system
Assignee: TNC US Holdings Inc
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Filing: 1989-07-28
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-07-28
Abstract
Abstract An image recognition system (10) is provided for identifying predetermined individual members of a viewing audience in a monitored area. A pattern image signature is extracted (98) and is stored (100) corresponding to each predetermined individual member of the viewing audience to be identified. An audience scanner (12) includes audience locating circuitry (30, 18) for locating individual audience members in the monitored area. A video image (28A, 22A) is captured (12, 18, 22) for each of the located individual audience members in the monitored area. A pattern image signature is extracted (110) from the captured image. The extracted pattern image signature is compared (112, 114) with each of the stored pattern image signatures (100) to identify a particular one of the predetermined audience members. These steps are repeated to identify all of the located individual audience members in the monitored area.
Inventors
- 👤 Daozheng Lu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 14:06
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04H; H04H60/00; H04H60/35; H04H60/45; G; G06; G06V; G06V20/00; G06V20/50; G06V20/52; G06V20/53; G06V40/00; G06V40/10; G06V40/16; G06V40/161; G06V40/166; H04H60/56; H04H60/59; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/41; H04N21/422; H04N21/42201; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/173; H04N7/17309; H04N19/00; H04N19/20
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
92 words
An image recognition system (10) for identifying predetermined individual members of a viewing audience in a monitored area: means (14) for storing a plurality of pattern image signatures, each of said pattern image signatures corresponding to one of the predetermined individual members; means (12) for locating individual members in the monitored area; means (12, 18, 22) for capturing an image of each of said located individual members in the monitored area; means (14) for comparing said captured image with said stored pattern image signatures to identify each of the predetermined individual members.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
92 words
An image recognition system (10) for identifying predetermined individual members of a viewing audience in a monitored area: means (14) for storing a plurality of pattern image signatures, each of said pattern image signatures corresponding to one of the predetermined individual members; means (12) for locating individual members in the monitored area; means (12, 18, 22) for capturing an image of each of said located individual members in the monitored area; means (14) for comparing said captured image with said stored pattern image signatures to identify each of the predetermined individual members.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 1 wherein said means for locating the individual members includes an infrared detector (30) for providing a temperature representative signal (30A) of the monitored area.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 2 further comprising processing means (38, 40, 20, 14) for processing said temperature representative signal to provide a direction signal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 3 wherein said means for locating the individual members further includes ultrasonic means (32) responsive to said direction signal for providing a distance signal (32A).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
49 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 4 wherein said ultrasonic means (32) include means (60) for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse echo signal, means (64, 58) for detecting a reflected pulse echo signal, and means (78) for processing said detected pulse echo signal for providing said distance signal.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
50 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 2 wherein said means (12) for locating the individual members further includes scanner means (36) for scanning the monitored area providing angular rotation of said infrared detector (30) in a plane to provide said temperature representative signal (30A) of the monitored area.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
27 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 1 wherein said image capturing means includes an infrared video camera (28) for providing a video image signal (28A).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
45 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 7 wherein said comparing means includes: means (88, 104, 106, 108) for processing each said captured video image to provide a digitized image signal; and means (110) for extracting a pattern signature from said digitized image signal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 8 wherein said digitized image signal comprises a digitized gray level image (104, G-SUB).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 8 wherein said digitized image signal comprises a thresholding binary image (108, B-SUB).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
88 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 8 wherein said pattern signature extracting means (98) includes: means (98 and FIG. 8B) for defining a plurality of predefined feature positions (i=0 to i=(T-1)) from said digitized image signal; means (98 and FIG. 8B) for identifying a feature value (S) for each of said plurality of predefined feature positions; and means (100 and FIG. 8B) for identifying a memory location (B=ADDR + A byte) corresponding to said identified feature value for each of said plurality of predefined feature positions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
59 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 11 wherein said comparing means further includes: means (112 and FIG. 8B) for calculating a number of matching memory locations (N-FOUND) with each of said pattern image signatures; and means (114 and FIG. 8B) for identifying a match responsive to said calculated number (N-FOUND) greater than a predetermined threshold value (THRESHOLD).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
34 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 12 wherein said comparing means further includes: means (114 and FIG. 8B) for identifying a highest matching value to identify each of the predetermined audience members.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
30 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 1 further comprising covert illumination means (34) for illuminating the monitored area, said covert illumination means including at least one infrared illuminator.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 1 wherein said means (12) for locating the individual members includes scanner means (36) for scanning said monitored area.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
66 words
An image recognition system as recited in claim 16 wherein said scanner means (36) carries an infrared sensing means (30) for providing a temperature representative signal (30A) of said monitored area and an infrared video camera (28) for capturing an image of each located individual member in the monitored area and responsive to a direction signal obtained from means (14) responsive to said temperature representative signal.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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