US6175663B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for preserving background continuity in images
Assignee: Resource Consortium Ltd
•
Filing: 1998-02-24
•
Granted: 2001-01-16
•
Expires: 2018-02-24
Abstract
Abstract The disclosed system has particular applications to image archives and reediting. Given an image of an article having graphic objects including texts and pictures, the disclosed system first distinguishes graphic objects from the background by segmenting the image so as to produce an object image comprising a foreground, wherein the foreground corresponds to the graphic objects in the image. With respect to the foreground, the disclosed system "repaints" those spaces previously occupied by the graphic objects, referred to as object spaces, with the background color in the image as such the background continuity is preserved when the graphic objects are rendered and subsequently superimposed onto the repainted background. To account for various backgrounds, the disclosed system uses a point-wise patching approach followed by a one-dimensional patching approach if the object spaces contain two different colors. In addition, a two-dimensional patching approach is implemented to account for printing effects such as half-toning and mosaic patterns.
Inventors
- 👤 Shih-Chi Huang
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 20:33
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T11/00; G06T11/60; G06T7/00; G06T7/10; G06T7/194; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/20; G06T2207/20048; G06T2207/20056
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
197 words
A method for preserving background continuity in an image comprising vector pixels, said method comprising: acquiring said image into a working memory so that said vector pixels can be randomly accessed for manipulation, wherein said image comprises a number of graphic objects, at least one of said graphic objects includes texts; converting said vector pixels, accordingly and respectively, to scalar pixels; binarizing scalar pixels to produce a binarized image; producing an object image from said acquired image with respect to said binarized image, said object image comprising a foreground and a background, wherein said foreground corresponds to object spaces occupied by said graphic objects in said image; generating a patched image from said object image by filling in said object spaces with colors of said background; receiving rendered objects generated respectively from said graphic objects in said acquired image with respect to said object image, wherein one of said rendered objects is from an optical character recognition (OCR) engine and in accordance with said at least one of said graphic objects including texts; and superimposing said rendered objects onto the patched image near respective positions of each of said graphic objects to produce a composed output image.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
197 words
A method for preserving background continuity in an image comprising vector pixels, said method comprising: acquiring said image into a working memory so that said vector pixels can be randomly accessed for manipulation, wherein said image comprises a number of graphic objects, at least one of said graphic objects includes texts; converting said vector pixels, accordingly and respectively, to scalar pixels; binarizing scalar pixels to produce a binarized image; producing an object image from said acquired image with respect to said binarized image, said object image comprising a foreground and a background, wherein said foreground corresponds to object spaces occupied by said graphic objects in said image; generating a patched image from said object image by filling in said object spaces with colors of said background; receiving rendered objects generated respectively from said graphic objects in said acquired image with respect to said object image, wherein one of said rendered objects is from an optical character recognition (OCR) engine and in accordance with said at least one of said graphic objects including texts; and superimposing said rendered objects onto the patched image near respective positions of each of said graphic objects to produce a composed output image.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising reformatting said rendered object so that said composed output image containing said rendered objects resembles said acquired image.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein said generating said patched image from said object image comprises: searching for a reference color in an area, cross-referenced by said background in said object image, in said image; and patching said object spaces in said image with said reference color.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method as recited in claim 3 , wherein said generating said patched image from said object image further comprises researching for a new reference color if a color difference between said patched object spaces and said area is greater than a threshold.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as recited in claim 4 , wherein said generating said patched image from said object image further comprises patching said object spaces in said image with said new reference color.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
222 words
An apparatus for preserving background continuity in an image comprising vector pixels, said apparatus comprising: means for acquiring said image into a working memory so that said vector pixels can be randomly accessed for manipulation, wherein said image comprises a number of graphic objects, at least one of said graphic objects includes texts; means for converting said vector pixels, accordingly and respectively, to scalar pixels; means for binarizing scalar pixels to produce a binarized image; means for producing an object image from said acquired image with respect to said binarized image, said object image comprising a foreground and a background, wherein said foreground corresponds to object spaces occupied by said graphic objects in said image and said background correspond to areas unoccupied by said graphic objects; means for generating a patched image from said object image by filling in said object spaces with colors of said background; means for receiving rendered objects generated respectively from said graphic objects in said acquired image with respect to said object image, wherein one of said rendered objects is from an optical character recognition (OCR) engine and in accordance with said at least one of said graphic objects including texts; and means for superimposing said rendered objects onto the patched image near respective positions of each of said graphic objects to produce a composed output image.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
222 words
An apparatus for preserving background continuity in an image comprising vector pixels, said apparatus comprising: means for acquiring said image into a working memory so that said vector pixels can be randomly accessed for manipulation, wherein said image comprises a number of graphic objects, at least one of said graphic objects includes texts; means for converting said vector pixels, accordingly and respectively, to scalar pixels; means for binarizing scalar pixels to produce a binarized image; means for producing an object image from said acquired image with respect to said binarized image, said object image comprising a foreground and a background, wherein said foreground corresponds to object spaces occupied by said graphic objects in said image and said background correspond to areas unoccupied by said graphic objects; means for generating a patched image from said object image by filling in said object spaces with colors of said background; means for receiving rendered objects generated respectively from said graphic objects in said acquired image with respect to said object image, wherein one of said rendered objects is from an optical character recognition (OCR) engine and in accordance with said at least one of said graphic objects including texts; and means for superimposing said rendered objects onto the patched image near respective positions of each of said graphic objects to produce a composed output image.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus as recited in claim 6 further comprising means for reformatting said rendered object so that said composed output image containing said rendered objects resembles said acquired image.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
56 words
The apparatus as recited in claim 7 , wherein said means for generating said patched image from said object image comprises: means for searching for a reference color in an area, cross-referenced by said background in said object image, in said image; and means for patching said object spaces in said image with said reference color.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus as recited in claim 8 , wherein said means for generating said patched image from said object image further comprises means for researching for a new reference color if a color difference between said patched object spaces and said area is greater than a threshold.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus as recited in claim 9 , wherein said means for generating said patched image from said object image further comprises patching said object spaces in said image with said new reference color.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4514818A
Cited
US5142355A
Cited
US5262856A
Cited
US5754184A
Cited
US5848201A
Cited
US5579456A
Cited
US5420971A
Cited
US5515112A
Cited
US5828369A
Cited
US5737031A
Cited
US5914748A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-01-16 | 2004-07-17 | 2005-01-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-01-16 | 2008-07-17 | 2009-01-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-01-16 | 2012-07-17 | 2013-01-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |