Patents Examined by Michael A Newman
  • Patent number: 8798328
    Abstract: An image is obtained of an identifying object that is on a printed document. A forensic signature is extracted from the image. Access to the extracted forensic signature profile is enabled via information encoded in the identifying object. The identifying object may be interpreted to access the forensic signature for comparison with another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Steven J. Simske, Marie Vans, Stephen Pollard, Guy Adams
  • Patent number: 8792700
    Abstract: A method is provided for processing a sequence of sets of 2D projection images of a moving object, wherein the sequence of sets of 2D projection images is obtained by a medical imaging system that is in motion along a trajectory. The method comprises determining a sequence of images which minimize a function dependant on a set of 3D images, a term of fidelity of the sequence of images, a function of spatial and temporal compression of the sequence of images, a compressibility parameter, and a sequence of operators for an approximate modelling of motion. The sequence of operators leads to a compression constraint augmented by partial knowledge of the motion and the minimization comprises defining a decreasing sequence of degrees of compressibility for which an estimation is determined from an initial sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Cyril Riddell, Lorenzo Audibert
  • Patent number: 8792751
    Abstract: Embodiments of a computer system, a method and a computer-program product (e.g., software) for use with the computer system are described. These embodiments allow a user to provide an image of a document for use with software, such as an image of a financial document for use with financial software. In particular, the user can provide the image of the document, for example, by taking a picture of the document using a cellular telephone. This image may be converted into an electronic format that is suitable for text and numerical processing using a character-recognition technique, such as optical character recognition or intelligent character recognition. Errors in the electronic version of the document, if present, may be identified and corrected by comparing the electronic version to information maintained by a third party. This information may be accessed based at least on one or more items in the electronic version of the document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: Intuit Inc.
    Inventors: Amir Eftekhari, Erikheath A. Thomas, Carol Ann Howe, George Thomas Ericksen, Gerald B. Huff, Gang Wang
  • Patent number: 8781248
    Abstract: The appearance of image details can be preserved and/or enhanced by applying contrast adaptive gain to the high spatial frequency component of the luminance information. The image details in bright and/or dark regions can be further boosted by applying a local mean adaptive gain. The contrast transfer mapping curve for luminance contrast enhancement can be re-scaled to account for the applied gain. The re-scaling may be performed from frame to frame of displayed video. The re-scaling may be temporally controlled for subsequent frames to make the re-scaling change gradually to prevent flickering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Haiyun Wang, Lucas Hui
  • Patent number: 8774532
    Abstract: Techniques for calibrating a classification system, wherein one or more objects in at least one video are classified, are provided. At least one view associated with the at least one video is obtained. The at least one view is partitioned into at least one region. A given object is classified in accordance with its location in reference to the at least one region. In an additional embodiment, one or more object models are obtained. At least one normalized size of the one or more objects is defined within at least one view associated with the at least one video in accordance with the one or more object models. The one or more objects are classified in accordance with the at least one defined normalized size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Lisa Marie Brown, Longbin Chen, Rogerio Schmidt Feris, Arun Hampapur, Yun Zhai
  • Patent number: 8768019
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to acquiring image data of a subject and selecting image data to be displayed. The image data can include a plurality of frames that relate to a specific location of a tracking device positioned within the subject. The determined location of the tracking device can be used to determine which frame of the image data to display at a selected time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael R. Neidert
  • Patent number: 8768031
    Abstract: A method is disclosed of providing time dependent three dimensional imaging of a region of a patient comprising blood vessels in a perfusion bed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignees: Mistretta Medical, LLC, CMS Medical, LLC
    Inventors: Charles A. Mistretta, Charles M. Strother
  • Patent number: 8768030
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for reconstructing image data of an examination object from measurement data of a computed tomography system, the examination object having been irradiated simultaneously by a number of X-ray sources while the measurement data was being acquired so that different projections of the examination object associated with the number of X-ray sources were acquired simultaneously for each detector element. In at least one embodiment, different iteration images of the examination object are determined one after the other from the measurement data by way of an iterative algorithm, a computation operation being employed with the iterative algorithm, which is applied to the iteration images and takes the presence of the number of X-ray sources into account.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Herbert Bruder, Karl Stierstorfer
  • Patent number: 8737694
    Abstract: Relative changes in organic matter in soil in an agricultural field are mapped by a computer-implemented system and method that uses a number of individual bands from one or more remotely sensed images of the agricultural field. Each of the bands is associated with a light spectrum wavelength range, and each of the bands is weighted based on its contribution to predicting relative changes in organic matter. Elevation data may also be used in the weighted calculation. The map is separated into zones based on the relative predicted organic matter falling within a predefined range. Each zone may be associated with a different average organic matter content, and nutrient supplements are recommended for each zone based on the average organic matter associated with each of the mapped zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative
    Inventors: Mark Bredehoft, Christopher C. Dunsmore
  • Patent number: 8731334
    Abstract: An exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a method of registering images. The method includes: for each image, determining an optimum intensity threshold set from a plurality of intensity threshold sets that maximizes a variance between classes of each set, segmenting each image using the corresponding determined optimum intensity threshold set, generating mutual information from a joint histogram of at least two of the segmented images, and registering the at least two images using the mutual information. The joint histogram may be generated using a geometry shader of a graphical processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Alban Lefebvre, Guillaume Bousquet, Christophe Chefd'hotel, Razik Yousfi
  • Patent number: 8724887
    Abstract: A method of depth imaging includes acquiring a depth image from a depth camera, identifying an environmental factor invalidating depth information in one or more portions of the depth image, and outputting an environmental modification to mitigate the environmental factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Prafulla Masalkar, Alan Leach
  • Patent number: 8699809
    Abstract: A labeling unit that extracts a character included in raster format image data and finds the size of the extracted character, and an approximation method determination unit that determines whether or not to use curve approximation to convert the character based on the found size, are provided. In the case where it has been determined to use curve approximation, the character is converted into a vector format by performing straight-line approximation or curve approximation on each of the various parts of the contour of the character, whereas in the case where it has been determined not to use curve approximation, the character is converted into a vector format by performing straight-line approximation and not performing curve approximation on each of the various parts of the contour of the character.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Yuko Oota
  • Patent number: 8693732
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for controlling a device based on computer vision. Embodiments of the system and method of the invention are based on receiving a sequence of images of a field of view; detecting movement of at least one object in the images; applying a shape recognition algorithm on the at least one moving object; confirming that the object is a user hand by combining information from at least two images of the object; and tracking the object to control the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: Pointgrab Ltd.
    Inventors: Eran Eilat, Amir Kaplan, Haim Perski
  • Patent number: 8666185
    Abstract: A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for creating a binary mask image from an a inputted digital image of a scanned document, comprising the steps of creating a binarized image by binarizing the inputted digital image, detecting first text regions representing light text on a dark background, and inverting the first text regions, such that the inverted first text regions are interpretable in the same way as dark text on a light background. A second aspect of the invention relates to a method for comparing in a binary image a first pixel blob with a second pixel blob to determine whether they represent matching symbols, comprising the steps of detecting a line in one blob not present in the other and/or determining if one of the blobs represents an italicized symbol where the other does not.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: I.R.I.S.
    Inventors: Michel Dauw, Pierre Demuelenaere
  • Patent number: 8666109
    Abstract: A system and method for recording emergency data during a 911 call. The emergency data recorded may be in the form of a digital image. The digital image may be of the event prompting the 911 call. The digital image may be a single image, a series of images, or streaming video. The emergency data may be received on a portable electronic device, such as a cell phone, through a digital imaging device, such as a digital camera. The emergency data may then be transmitted to a server, wherein the emergency data is stored. The emergency data may be accessed by a 911 dispatcher during a 911 call to review the image data to aid in assessing the emergency recorded in the emergency data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: Paul V. Hubner, Kristopher A. Pate, Steven T. Archer, Robert A. Clavenna
  • Patent number: 8666115
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for controlling a device based on computer vision. Embodiments of the system and method of the invention are based on receiving a sequence of images of a field of view; detecting movement of at least one object in the images; applying a shape recognition algorithm on the at least one moving object; confirming that the object is a user hand by combining information from at least two images of the object; and tracking the object to control the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Pointgrab Ltd.
    Inventors: Haim Perski, Amir Kaplan, Eran Eilat
  • Patent number: 8660382
    Abstract: A computer system running image processing software receives an identification of a desired geographical area to be imaged and collected into an oblique-mosaic image; creates a mathematical model of a virtual camera looking down at an oblique angle, the mathematical model having an oblique-mosaic pixel map of the desired area encompassing multiple source images; assigns surface locations to pixels included in the oblique-mosaic pixel map; creates a ground elevation model of the ground and vertical structures within the oblique-mosaic pixel map using overlapping source images of the desired geographical area, wherein the source oblique images were captured at an oblique angle and compass direction similar to that of the virtual camera; and reprojects, with the mathematical model, source oblique image pixels of the overlapping source images for pixels included in the oblique-mosaic pixel map using the ground elevation model to thereby create an oblique-mosaic image of the desired area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: Pictometry International Corp.
    Inventors: Stephen L. Schultz, Frank Giuffrida, Robert Gray
  • Patent number: 8649607
    Abstract: Apparatus, systems, and methods integrating spectral information with spatial feature extraction of image data, providing simultaneous spatial and spectral feature selection of the image data, can be used in a variety of applications. In various embodiments, an edge signature for the edge between two materials can be defined using ratios of identified spectral bands, where the edge signature can be combined with a spatial mask to obtain a joint spatio-spectral mask. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: STC.UNM
    Inventors: Majeed M. Hayat, Sanjay Krishna, Biliana Stefanova Paskaleva
  • Patent number: 8644622
    Abstract: To compute a signature for an object comprising or represented by a set of vectors in a vector space of dimensionality D, statistics are computed that are indicative of distribution of the vectors of the set of vectors amongst a set of regions Ri, i=1, . . . , N of the vector space, at least some statistics associated with each region are binarized to generate sets of binary values ai, i=1, . . . , N indicative of statistics of the vectors of the set of vectors belonging to the respective regions Ri, i=1, . . . , N; and a vector set signature is defined for the set of vectors including the sets of binary values ai, i=1, . . . , N. The computing, binarizing, and defining operations may be repeated for two sets of vectors, and a quantitative comparison of the two sets of vectors determined based on the corresponding vector set signatures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Florent Perronnin, Herve Poirier
  • Patent number: 8630493
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein facilitate or enhance the implementation of image recognition processes which can perform recognition on images to identify objects and/or faces by class or by people.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Salih Burak Gokturk, Dragomir Anguelov, Lorenzo Torresani, Vincent Vanhoucke, Munjal Shah, Diem Vu, Kuang-Chih Lee