Patent US6011595A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6011595A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region
Assignee: Apple Inc
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Filing: 1997-09-19
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Granted: 2000-01-04
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Expires: 2017-09-19
Abstract
Abstract A method for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region including characterizing a distribution of key color values; using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up-table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to define a key color volume; addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; and labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Inventors
- 👤 Todd R. Henderson
- 👤 Kevin E. Spaulding
- 👤 Douglas W. Couwenhoven
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 10:54
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N9/00; H04N9/64; H04N9/74; H04N9/75
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 46
Claim 1
Independent Claim
142 words
A method for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to defme a key color volume; c) addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; and d) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
142 words
A method for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to defme a key color volume; c) addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; and d) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the digital image is obtained from a digital camera.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the digital image is obtained from a video camera.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the digital image is obtained from a digitized photograph.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step a) includes determining the distribution of color values in a digital calibration image that contains no foreground objects.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 5 where the digital calibration image includes a shadowed key color region.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step a) includes determining the distribution of key color values by analyzing a subset of the key color region in the digital image.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the key color region is identified by a user.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step a) includes having a user adjust a set of parameter values that characterize the distribution of key color values.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the pixels in the digital image are labeled by an output value of the multi-dimensional look-up table.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the selected color space comprises a luminance value and two chrominance values.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the color space is CIELAB.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the color space is YCrCb.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the key color volume is defined by the envelope of the distribution of the key color values.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the key color volume is defined by enlarging the envelope of the distribution of key color values.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the envelope of the distribution of key color values is enlarged to include color values corresponding to shadowed key color regions.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein a range of hue angles is used to define the key color volume.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the range of hue angles is a function of a luminance signal.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein a range of chroma values is used to define the key color volume.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 19 wherein the range of chroma values is a function of a luminance value.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
130 words
A method for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to define a key color volume in a selected color space where the key color volume is characterized by a range of hue angles and a range of chroma values wherein at least one of such ranges is a function of a luminance value; and c) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
130 words
A method for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to define a key color volume in a selected color space where the key color volume is characterized by a range of hue angles and a range of chroma values wherein at least one of such ranges is a function of a luminance value; and c) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 21 wherein step a) includes determining the distribution of color values in a digital calibration image that contains no foreground objects.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 22 where the digital calibration image includes a shadowed key color region.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 21 wherein step a) includes determining the distribution of key color values by analyzing a key color region in the digital image.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 24 wherein the key color region is identified by a user.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 21 wherein step a) includes having a user adjust a set of parameters that characterize the key color volume.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the selected color space comprises a luminance value and two chrominance values.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 27 wherein the color space is CIELAB.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 27 wherein the color space is YCrCb.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the key color volume is defined by the envelope of the distribution of the key color values.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the key color volume is defined by enlarging the envelope of the distribution of key color values.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 31 wherein the envelope of the distribution of key color values is enlarged to include color values corresponding to shadowed key color regions.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
184 words
A method for segmenting a first digital image into a foreground region and a key color region and composing the foreground region of the first digital image with a background digital image to produce a composite digital image comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up-table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to define a key color volume; c) addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; d) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region; and e) combining the first digital image with a background digital image using the segmented regions to produce the composite digital image.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
184 words
A method for segmenting a first digital image into a foreground region and a key color region and composing the foreground region of the first digital image with a background digital image to produce a composite digital image comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up-table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to define a key color volume; c) addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; d) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region; and e) combining the first digital image with a background digital image using the segmented regions to produce the composite digital image.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
173 words
A method for segmenting a first digital image into a foreground region and a key color region and composing the foreground region of the first digital image with a background digital image to produce a composite digital image comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to define a key color volume in a selected color space where the key color volume is characterized by a range of hue angles and a range of chroma values wherein at least one of such ranges is a function of a luminance value; c) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region; and d) combining the first digital image with a background digital image using the segmented regions to produce the composite digital image.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
173 words
A method for segmenting a first digital image into a foreground region and a key color region and composing the foreground region of the first digital image with a background digital image to produce a composite digital image comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to define a key color volume in a selected color space where the key color volume is characterized by a range of hue angles and a range of chroma values wherein at least one of such ranges is a function of a luminance value; c) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region; and d) combining the first digital image with a background digital image using the segmented regions to produce the composite digital image.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
149 words
A computer program product having a computer program stored therein for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up-table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to define a key color volume; c) addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; and d) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
149 words
A computer program product having a computer program stored therein for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up-table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to define a key color volume; c) addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; and d) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
138 words
A computer program product having a computer program stored therein for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to define a key color volume in a selected color space where the key color volume is characterized by a range of hue angles and a range of chroma values wherein at least one of such ranges is a function of a luminance value; and c) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
138 words
A computer program product having a computer program stored therein for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to define a key color volume in a selected color space where the key color volume is characterized by a range of hue angles and a range of chroma values wherein at least one of such ranges is a function of a luminance value; and c) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
170 words
A computer program product having a computer program stored therein for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up-table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to define a key color volume; c) addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; d) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region; and e) combining the first digital image with a background digital image using the segmented regions to produce the composite digital image.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
170 words
A computer program product having a computer program stored therein for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to produce a multi-dimensional look-up-table having three or more dimensions indexed by color values in a selected color space to define a key color volume; c) addressing the multi-dimensional look-up table with color values of pixels in the digital image to determine whether the color values of such pixels are within the key color volume; d) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region; and e) combining the first digital image with a background digital image using the segmented regions to produce the composite digital image.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
159 words
A computer program product having a computer program stored therein for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to define a key color volume in a selected color space where the key color volume is characterized by a range of hue angles and a range of chroma values wherein at least one of such ranges is a function of a luminance value; c) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region; and d) combining the first digital image with a background digital image using the segmented regions to produce the composite digital image.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
159 words
A computer program product having a computer program stored therein for segmenting a digital image into a foreground region and a key color region comprising the steps of: a) characterizing a distribution of key color values; b) using the distribution of key color values to define a key color volume in a selected color space where the key color volume is characterized by a range of hue angles and a range of chroma values wherein at least one of such ranges is a function of a luminance value; c) labeling pixels in the digital image whose color values fall within the key color volume to be within the key color region and labeling all other pixels to be within the foreground region whereby the digital image is segmented into the foreground region and the key color region; and d) combining the first digital image with a background digital image using the segmented regions to produce the composite digital image.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-01-03 | 2003-07-05 | 2004-01-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
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| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-01-03 | 2011-07-05 | 2012-01-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |