Patent US6504944B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6504944B2
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US
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Image recognition apparatus and method
Assignee: Toshiba Corp
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Filing: 1999-02-01
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Granted: 2003-01-07
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Expires: 2019-02-01
Abstract
Abstract An image recognition apparatus and method in which an image capture device captures a distance image stream of an object body. A mouth portion extraction mechanism extracts a mouth portion from the distance image stream that has been extracted by the image capture device. An image recognition mechanism recognizes at least one of a lip shape and a lip movement based on a mouth portion distance image stream that has been extracted by the mouth portion extraction mechanism. Instructions for causing a computer to perform the method may be stored in a computer readable memory.
Inventors
- 👤 Isao Mihara
- 👤 Miwako Doi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 10:47
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06V; G06V40/00; G06V40/10; G06V40/16; G06V40/168; G06V20/00; G06V20/60; G06V20/64; G06V40/20
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 4
Claim 1
Independent Claim
166 words
An image recognition apparatus comprising: an image capturing device which captures a distance image having a depth value that represents a three-dimensional shape of an object; a mouth portion extracting mechanism configured to extract a mouth portion from the distance image captured by the image capturing device; an image recognizing mechanism configured to recognize a lip shape based on a mouth portion distance image extracted by the mouth portion extracting mechanism; a direction recognizing mechanism configured to recognize a direction of a face of a speaker based on the mouth shape obtained by the image recognition mechanism; a speech recognizing mechanism configured to recognize an input voice; and a control mechanism configured to perform at least one of a control of causing the speech recognizing mechanism to start speech recognition when a recognition results of the direction recognizing mechanism is a square direction and a control of causing the speech recognizing mechanism to terminate speech recognition based on a recognition result of the direction recognizing mechanism.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
166 words
An image recognition apparatus comprising: an image capturing device which captures a distance image having a depth value that represents a three-dimensional shape of an object; a mouth portion extracting mechanism configured to extract a mouth portion from the distance image captured by the image capturing device; an image recognizing mechanism configured to recognize a lip shape based on a mouth portion distance image extracted by the mouth portion extracting mechanism; a direction recognizing mechanism configured to recognize a direction of a face of a speaker based on the mouth shape obtained by the image recognition mechanism; a speech recognizing mechanism configured to recognize an input voice; and a control mechanism configured to perform at least one of a control of causing the speech recognizing mechanism to start speech recognition when a recognition results of the direction recognizing mechanism is a square direction and a control of causing the speech recognizing mechanism to terminate speech recognition based on a recognition result of the direction recognizing mechanism.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
171 words
An image recognition apparatus comprising: image capturing device which captures a distance image stream having a depth value represents a three-dimensional shape of an object; a mouth portion extracting mechanism configured to extract a mouth portion from the distance image stream captured by the image capturing device; an image recognizing mechanism configured to recognize a lip movement based on a mouth portion distance image stream extracted by the mouth portion extracting mechanism; a direction recognizing mechanism configured to recognize a direction of a face of a speaker based on the mouth movement obtained by the image recognition mechanism; a speech recognizing mechanism configured to recognize an input voice; and a control mechanism configured to perform at least one of a control of causing the speech recognizing mechanism to start speech recognition when a recognition results of the direction recognizing mechanism is a square direction and a control of causing the speech recognizing mechanism to terminate speech recognition when a recognition result of the direction recognizing mechanism is not a square direction.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
171 words
An image recognition apparatus comprising: image capturing device which captures a distance image stream having a depth value represents a three-dimensional shape of an object; a mouth portion extracting mechanism configured to extract a mouth portion from the distance image stream captured by the image capturing device; an image recognizing mechanism configured to recognize a lip movement based on a mouth portion distance image stream extracted by the mouth portion extracting mechanism; a direction recognizing mechanism configured to recognize a direction of a face of a speaker based on the mouth movement obtained by the image recognition mechanism; a speech recognizing mechanism configured to recognize an input voice; and a control mechanism configured to perform at least one of a control of causing the speech recognizing mechanism to start speech recognition when a recognition results of the direction recognizing mechanism is a square direction and a control of causing the speech recognizing mechanism to terminate speech recognition when a recognition result of the direction recognizing mechanism is not a square direction.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-01-06 | 2006-07-08 | 2007-01-07 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-01-06 | 2010-07-08 | 2011-01-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-01-06 | 2014-07-08 | 2015-01-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |