Patents Examined by Chan S. Park
  • Patent number: 8582830
    Abstract: A computer-controlled system determines attributes of a frexel, which is an area of human skin, and applies a reflectance modifying agent (RMA) at the pixel level to automatically change the appearance of human features based on one or more digital images. The change may be based on a digital image of the same frexel, for as seen in a prior digital photograph captured previously by the computer-controlled system. The system scans the frexel and uses feature recognition software to compare the person's current features in the frexel with that person's features in the digital image. It then calculates enhancements to the make the current features appear more like the features in the digital image, and it applies the RMA to the frexel to accomplish the enhancements. Or the change may be based on a digital image of another person, through the application of RMAs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: TCMS Transparent Beauty LLC
    Inventors: Albert D. Edgar, David C. Iglehart, Rick B. Yeager
  • Patent number: 8577169
    Abstract: Algorithms for improving the quality of images tone mapped using the bilateral filter are presented. The algorithms involve a localized operator applied to the tone mapping compression factor which enhances apparent image contrast in the low dynamic range output of the tone mapping. At least one embodiment of the present invention is related to circuitry configured to perform at least a portion of related calculations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Gentex Corporation
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Andrus, Jon H. Bechtel, Tom B. Sherman
  • Patent number: 8571356
    Abstract: The present invention relates to generation of an appropriate high-resolution image with respect to a plurality of input images. An image processing apparatus including a unit for acquiring a relative movement amount for each first image between a reference image selected from a plurality of first images and the first images; a unit for generating a fourth image having a first resolution for each first image in accordance with a third image having a second resolution, the relative movement amounts, and image capture characteristics of an image capture device; a unit for acquiring, for each fourth image, an evaluation value indicating a difference between the fourth image and the first image corresponding to the fourth image; and a unit for generating a second image having the second resolution by updating the third image using an update value that is determined using the fourth images in accordance with the evaluation values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuichi Nakada
  • Patent number: 8571340
    Abstract: Techniques are described to approximate computation of an inverse discrete cosine transform using fixed-point calculations. According to these techniques, matrixes of scaled coefficients are generated by multiplying coefficients in matrixes of encoded coefficients by scale factors. Next, matrixes of biased coefficients are generated by adding a midpoint bias value to a DC coefficient of the matrix of scaled coefficients. Fixed-point arithmetic is then used to apply a transform to the matrixes of biased coefficients. Values in the resulting matrixes are then right-shifted in order to derive matrixes of pixel component values. Matrixes of pixel component values are then combined to create matrixes of pixels. The matrixes of pixels generated by these techniques closely resemble matrixes of pixels decompressed using the ideal inverse discrete cosine transform (“IDCT”).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventor: Yuriy Reznik
  • Patent number: 8571261
    Abstract: In some embodiments, a non-transitory processor-readable medium stores code representing instructions to cause a processor to smooth a current image of a scene to produce a smoothed image and subtract pixel values of a background image of the scene from corresponding pixel values of the smoothed image to produce an altitude difference image. Pixel values of the altitude difference image are weighted to produce a weighted difference image. The weighted difference image is convolved to produce a convoluted difference image. A threshold is applied to each pixel of the convoluted difference image to produce a thresholded difference image. Pixels having a value less than the threshold are removed from the thresholded difference image and classified as background pixels. Foreground pixels are determined based on the thresholded difference image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: CheckVideo LLC
    Inventors: Nikhil Gagvani, Alexei Gritai
  • Patent number: 8565493
    Abstract: A face recognition method includes the step of: receiving feature data acquired by detecting each part of a face of a person included in digital data from a terminal at a server; comparing the feature data received from the terminal with those of persons determined as accessible among all feature data recorded in a feature data database based on face recognition technology, and deciding top n persons with top n degree of similarities among all persons recorded in the feature data database at the server, wherein the feature data recorded in the feature data database include feature data of each part of faces of the persons; and providing the information on the top n persons to the terminal. It may reduce work capacity and processing time by extracting and transmitting to the server feature data of each part of the face such as eyes, nose, mouth, ears and jaws.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventor: Jung-hee Ryu
  • Patent number: 8565538
    Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for detecting and labeling places recognized in a video stream using change-points detection. The system includes a segmentation module and a label learning module. The segmentation module is configured to receive a video stream comprising multiple digital representations of images. The video stream is represented by a measurement stream comprising one or more image histograms of the video stream. The segmentation module segments the measurement stream into multiple segments corresponding to place recognized in the videos stream. The segmentation module detects change-points of the measurement stream and computes probability distributions of the segments over multiple pre-learned place models. The label generation module is configured to generate place labels for the places recognized by the place models.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Ananth Ranganathan
  • Patent number: 8565555
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus for generating corrected image data from a plurality of input image data by performing an iterative calculation process includes an input unit configured to input the plurality of input image data, an acquisition unit configured to acquire a photographing parameter used for photographing to acquire the input image data, a setting unit configured to set for each image area a number of iterations for generating the corrected image data based on the photographing parameter, and a generation unit configured to generate correction data from the plurality of image data by performing an iterative calculation process on each image area based on the number of iterations set for each image area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takuya Kotani
  • Patent number: 8559719
    Abstract: A spectral anomaly detection method includes the steps of segmenting a panchromatic image, obtained from a hyperspectral sensor into cluster data sets. Principal component analysis can be separately performed on each of the cluster data sets to produce a plot of principal components. An anomaly detection algorithm can be applied to an adaptively selected subset of principal components for each of the cluster data sets to produce cluster detection scores. Finally, separate detection thresholding algorithms can be applied to each of the cluster detection scores, and the results of the detection thresholding algorithms can be combined into a single detection plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Andrey V. Kanaev, Jeremy Murray-Krezan
  • Patent number: 8559730
    Abstract: A method for identifying singleton outlier pixels in a selected color space in a digital image including a plurality of pixels, includes for each 3×3 patch of pixels in the image, calculating the diameter of the 3×3 patch of pixels. For each pixel in the patch, the distance to its nearest neighbor pixel within the patch is computed, as measured in the selected color space. The computed distance from each pixel in the patch is compared to its nearest neighbor with a threshold that is a preselected fraction of the diameter. A center pixel in the patch is identified as an outlier pixel if its calculated distance to its nearest neighbor is the largest distance to a nearest neighbor and exceeds the threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Foveon, Inc.
    Inventors: Florin Cutzu, Sumit Chawla, Ted Cooper, Robert A. Williams
  • Patent number: 8559691
    Abstract: A method for radiographic imaging is described. Radiographic raw images of an object are generated by an imaging system comprising an X-ray source and an X-ray detector and moving along a given trajectory during an acquisition process of the radiographic images. During the generation of the radiographic raw images displacement data describing the displacement of the moving object are generated by means of a sensor arrangement and a control unit connected with the sensor arrangement. Finally views of the object are produced by image processing of the radiographic raw images in the control unit wherein the displacement data are used for compensating the motion of the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: CEFLA S.C.
    Inventors: Nunzio Alberto Borghese, Eros Nanni, Giuseppe Rotondo
  • Patent number: 8553996
    Abstract: The present invention is an image transmission terminal including: an image capture unit (17, 47) that outputs pixel signals; an image data generating unit (18, 48) that generates and outputs image frame data; a first image data compression unit (19, 49) that compresses and outputs the image frame data; a second image data compression unit (21, 51) that either leaves the image frame data uncompressed or else compresses and outputs the image frame data; an image selection unit (11, 13, 41, 43) that receives an operation input from a user, and selects the image frame data; an image data storage unit (22, 38, 52, 69) that stores the image frame data output from the second image data compression unit; and an image transmission unit (20, 50, 38) that wirelessly transmits the image frame data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignees: Olympus Corporation, Olympus Medical Systems Corp.
    Inventors: Shinya Kawasaki, Takemitsu Honda
  • Patent number: 8554012
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus including an image photographing unit, and a control unit, wherein the control unit includes a document image acquiring unit that acquires a document image including at least an image of a document, a contour extracting unit that extracts a contour of the document from the document image, the extracting the contour being performed based on luminance, a distortion position detecting unit that detects a contour straight line located at a location where a distance between the contour and a center point of a rectangle having the minimum area surrounding the contour is shortest, the contour straight line being detected as a distortion position in the document, the contour straight line being located on the contour, and a corrected image generating unit that performs a geometric correction on the document image to extend the contour to a correction reference line determined from the distortion position, and generates a corrected image having the distortion in the document image correct
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Jiyun Du, Satoshi Miyamoto, Nobuhisa Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8554014
    Abstract: A camera that provides for a panorama mode of operation that employs internal software and internal acceleration hardware to stitch together two or more captured images to create a single panorama image with a wide format. Captured images are projected from rectilinear coordinates into cylindrical coordinates with the aid of image interpolation acceleration hardware. Matches are quickly determined between each pair of images with a block based search that employs motion estimation acceleration hardware. Transformation are found, utilizing regression and robust statistics techniques, to align the captured images with each other, which are applied to the images using the interpolation acceleration hardware. A determination is made for an optimal seam to stitch images together in the overlap region by finding a path which cuts through relatively non-noticeable regions so that the images can be stitched together into a single image with a wide panoramic effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: CSR Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Noam Levy, Meir Tzur
  • Patent number: 8548275
    Abstract: An image processing method applied to an image processing device is capable of implementing bitstream stitching technique after interrupting image processing process. The image processing method includes steps of processing the i-th slice of N slices in an image to generate a plurality of first processed data; storing the first processed data in a memory unit; once an interrupting request is generated according to a requested process, storing stitching information associated with the last first processed data after processing the i-th slice; stopping processing the image and executing the requested process according to the interrupting request; continuing to process the (i+1)-th slice of the N slices to generate a plurality of second processed data after the requested process is finished; and storing the second processed data after the last first processed data in the memory unit according to the stitching information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Altek Corporation
    Inventors: Chia-Ho Pan, Po-Jung Lin, Da-Ming Chang, Yen-Ping Teng, Shuei-Lin Chen
  • Patent number: 8548236
    Abstract: A method for matching colors including comparing the appearance of a first white color associated with a first color imaging system and a second white color associated with a second color imaging system, wherein the tristimulus values of the first and second white color are similar; determining a fixed correction to the tristimulus values of the second white color to achieve a visual match to the first white color; measuring a first set of spectral values for a first color associated with the first color imaging system; determining a first set of tristimulus values from the first set of spectral values; measuring a second set of spectral values for a second color associated with the second color imaging system; determining a second set of tristimulus values from the second set of spectral values; applying a correction to the tristimulus values of the second color; determining a difference between the tristimulus value of the first color and the corrected tristimulus value of the second color; and adjusting th
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Christopher J. Edge
  • Patent number: 8542884
    Abstract: In various embodiments, old flood maps may be compared to new flood maps to determine which areas of the flood map have changed. These changed areas may be correlated against geographic area descriptions that are within changed areas of the flood map. The changed areas may also be analyzed to determine whether each area has had a change in status (e.g., from a high risk flood zone to a non-high risk flood zone or vice versa) or a change in zone within a status (e.g., from one flood zone to another flood zone). The information on type of change (or no change) may be used to populate a database that includes geographic area description identifiers. In some embodiments, detection of certain types of changes may initiate a manual comparison of the old and new flood maps to verify the change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Corelogic Solutions, LLC
    Inventor: David R. Maltby, II
  • Patent number: 8538154
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus analyzes an image of a document to thereby extract a heading region from the image. The image processing apparatus detects candidates for the heading region from the image, and defines a predetermined range in the image as a range to be processed. The apparatus further groups the candidates in the range to be processed, based on a feature quantity corresponding to a feature in terms of style of a character string. The apparatus selects a representative group from the resultant groups, and divides the range to be processed, at the position of a candidate belonging to the representative group. The apparatus newly defines each of the portions generated by the division as a range to be processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Yoshio Komaki
  • Patent number: 8538148
    Abstract: Embodiments are described for a brightness enhancement method, system and apparatus for low power architecture. A histogram of a contrast image may be generated. One or more parameters may be set based on the histogram. A tone mapping for the contrast image may be determined based on the one or more parameters. An output pixel may be determined based on the tone mapping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventor: Jianping Zhou
  • Patent number: 8538195
    Abstract: Provided is a method of hyperspectral image dimension reduction. The method includes receiving a hyperspectral image having a plurality of pixels. A set of basis vectors is established at least in part with respect to the spectral vectors of the initial hyperspectral image. For each pixel of the hyperspectral image, the spectral vector is read and decomposed, i.e. unmixed, with the basis vector set to provide at least a reduced dimension vector for each pixel. Collectively the reduced dimension vectors for each pixel represent the dimensionally reduced image. A system operable to perform the method is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventor: Ian S. Robinson