Patent US6954290B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6954290B1
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US
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Method and apparatus to correct distortion of document copies
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 2000-11-09
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Granted: 2005-10-11
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Expires: 2020-11-09
Abstract
Abstract Pages of books are copied without distortion due to curvature of the page near the book binding or the distortion in a copied page is corrected using the spacing of equidistant bars on tape strips applied to the top and bottom edges of a page before copying. The tape is preferably transparent and rather narrow and easily attached to a page to be copied. The first step in the distortion correction procedure is to locate the bars at the top and bottom of the page. The distortion of the spacing between the imaged bars is computed based on the known distance between the equidistant bars. The computed distortion of the spacing is then input to a distortion correction algorithm. The output of the distortion correction algorithm generates a corrected image. This image may also optionally delete the bars so that they are not printed in the copy. The corrected image is then copied.
Inventors
- 👤 Gordon W. Braudaway
- 👤 Frank P. Giordano
- 👤 Marco Martens
- 👤 Charles P. Tresser
- 👤 Chai Wah Wu
- 👤 Charles A. Micchelli
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 18:21
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/00002; G; G06; G06V; G06V30/00; G06V30/10; G06V30/14; G06V30/146; G06V30/1475; G06V30/1478; H04N1/00026; H04N1/00045; H04N1/0005; H04N1/00071; H04N1/00082; H04N1/00087; H04N1/00092; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/04; H04N2201/0402; H04N2201/0434
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
120 words
A method for correcting distortion in an image of a scanned document, comprising: placing a reference pattern on a page; obtaining an image of said page containing printed information at least a portion of which is distorted; detecting said reference pattern in the image indicative of the distortion; computing an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing the detected reference pattern; and correcting the distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed in said computing step, wherein said placing step includes: attaching a strip of material containing said reference pattern at a predetermined location and predetermined orientation to said page, said obtaining step including scanning said page containing said strip of material into a memory.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
120 words
A method for correcting distortion in an image of a scanned document, comprising: placing a reference pattern on a page; obtaining an image of said page containing printed information at least a portion of which is distorted; detecting said reference pattern in the image indicative of the distortion; computing an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing the detected reference pattern; and correcting the distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed in said computing step, wherein said placing step includes: attaching a strip of material containing said reference pattern at a predetermined location and predetermined orientation to said page, said obtaining step including scanning said page containing said strip of material into a memory.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
139 words
A method for correcting distortion in an image of a scanned document, comprising: placing a reference pattern on a page; obtaining an image of said page containing printed information at least a portion of which is distorted; detecting said reference pattern in the image indicative of the distortion; computing an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing the detected reference pattern; and correcting the distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed in said computing step, wherein said placing step includes: attaching a plurality of strips of material at predetermined locations and predetermined orientations to said page, one of said strips of material containing said reference pattern and another of said strips containing a second reference pattern, said obtaining step including scanning said page containing said plurality of strips of material into a memory.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
139 words
A method for correcting distortion in an image of a scanned document, comprising: placing a reference pattern on a page; obtaining an image of said page containing printed information at least a portion of which is distorted; detecting said reference pattern in the image indicative of the distortion; computing an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing the detected reference pattern; and correcting the distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed in said computing step, wherein said placing step includes: attaching a plurality of strips of material at predetermined locations and predetermined orientations to said page, one of said strips of material containing said reference pattern and another of said strips containing a second reference pattern, said obtaining step including scanning said page containing said plurality of strips of material into a memory.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein said detecting step includes detecting said second reference pattern, wherein said computing step includes computing an amount of distortion in said image by analyzing said reference pattern and said second reference pattern, and wherein said correcting step includes correcting distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed in said computing step.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
90 words
A distortion correction processor adapted for use with a digital imaging device, said distortion correction processor comprising: an optical recognition unit which locates a reference pattern on a page in the form of a strip of material having a predetermined location and predetermined orientation in a document image; a distortion computation unit which determines an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing said reference pattern; and a bitmap processor which corrects the distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed by the distortion computation unit.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
90 words
A distortion correction processor adapted for use with a digital imaging device, said distortion correction processor comprising: an optical recognition unit which locates a reference pattern on a page in the form of a strip of material having a predetermined location and predetermined orientation in a document image; a distortion computation unit which determines an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing said reference pattern; and a bitmap processor which corrects the distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed by the distortion computation unit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The distortion correction processor of claim 4 , wherein reference pattern is located at a predetermined position within said image.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The distortion correction processor of claim 4 , wherein said reference pattern includes a series of markings having a predetermined spatial relationship.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The distortion correction processor of claim 6 , wherein said series of markings are a series of equidistantly spaced bars.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
75 words
The distortion correction processor of claim 4 , wherein said optical recognition unit locates a second reference pattern in said document image at a second location within said image, wherein said distortion computation unit computes an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing said reference pattern and said second reference pattern, and wherein said bitmap processor corrects distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed by said distortion computation unit.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
144 words
A digital imaging system, comprising: a document having a strip of material containing a reference pattern at a predetermined location and predetermined orientation on a page of said document; an optical scanner which scans said document to obtain an image, said image containing distortion resulting from curvature of said document on a support surface of said optical scanner; a distortion correction processor which receives said image from said optical scanner, said distortion correction processor including: (a) an optical recognition unit which locates said reference pattern in said image, (b) a distortion computation unit which determines an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing said reference pattern, (c) a bitmap processor which corrects the distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed by the distortion computation unit; and an output unit for outputting the corrected image to an output device.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
144 words
A digital imaging system, comprising: a document having a strip of material containing a reference pattern at a predetermined location and predetermined orientation on a page of said document; an optical scanner which scans said document to obtain an image, said image containing distortion resulting from curvature of said document on a support surface of said optical scanner; a distortion correction processor which receives said image from said optical scanner, said distortion correction processor including: (a) an optical recognition unit which locates said reference pattern in said image, (b) a distortion computation unit which determines an amount of the distortion in said image by analyzing said reference pattern, (c) a bitmap processor which corrects the distortion in said image based on the amount of distortion computed by the distortion computation unit; and an output unit for outputting the corrected image to an output device.
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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) | 2008-10-10 | 2009-04-11 | 2009-10-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2012-10-10 | 2013-04-11 | 2013-10-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2016-10-10 | 2017-04-11 | 2017-10-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |