Patents Examined by Michael A Newman
  • Patent number: 8526694
    Abstract: An image data subtraction system enhances visualization of vessels subject to movement using an imaging system. The imaging system acquires data representing first and second anatomical image sets comprising multiple temporally sequential individual mask (without contrast agent) and fill images (with contrast agent) of vessels respectively, during multiple heart cycles. An image data processor automatically identifies temporally corresponding pairs of images comprising a mask image and a contrast enhanced image and for the corresponding pairs, automatically determines a shift of a contrast enhanced image relative to a mask image to compensate for motion induced image mis-alignment. The image data processor automatically shifts a contrast enhanced image relative to a mask image in response to the determined shift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Pajeau
  • Patent number: 8515153
    Abstract: A scanning electron microscope comprises an image processing system for carrying out a pattern matching between a first image and a second image. The image processing system comprises: a paint-divided image generator for generating a paint divided image based on the first image; a gravity point distribution image generator for carrying out a smoothing process of the paint divided image and generating a gravity point distribution image; an edge line segment group generation unit for generating a group of edge line segments based on the second image; a matching score calculation unit for calculating a matching score based on the gravity point distribution image and the group of edge line segments; and a maximum score position detection unit for detecting a position where the matching score becomes the maximum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Akiyuki Sugiyama, Hiroyuki Shindo
  • Patent number: 8508710
    Abstract: In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a difference is detected between a first image and a second image. The second image can include at least a portion of the first image reflected from a display panel and light from an object passing through the display panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Wyatt A. Huddleston, Michael M. Blythe, Gregory W. Blythe
  • Patent number: 8509488
    Abstract: Satellite-based navigation techniques can help determine a user's position on a map and can also determine directions to a destination. Functionality can be implemented to determine the user's orientation and direction of motion based on a captured image taken in the direction of motion. The captured image may be preprocessed to compensate for a camera angle and to vary image properties before being transmitted to a server. The user's orientation may be determined based, at least in part, on knowledge of a user's position on a map and comparing the captured image to a set of other images. Walking directions can accordingly be tailored based on the user's orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Per K. Enge, Yi-Hsiu Wang
  • Patent number: 8498449
    Abstract: An eye part detecting device has an image input section (21) for acquiring a face image, an eyelid edge labeling section (24) for detecting upper eyelid candidates and lower eyelid candidates which satisfy predetermined conditions for upper eyelids or lower eyelids in the face image, and an eyelid determination section (27) for comparing combinations of the upper and lower eyelid candidates to determine the combination of the upper and lower eyelid candidates whose relation best satisfies a predetermined condition as the upper and lower eyelids. The eyelid edge labeling section (24) classifies the horizontal edges and vertical edges calculated by an edge calculating section (23) into the upper eyelid candidates and the lower eyelid candidates according to a degree of how well the predetermined conditions are satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignees: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomoharu Suzuki, Takashi Hiramaki, Kenichi Ohue, Kentaro Takahashi, Satoru Nakanishi, Shinichi Kojima
  • Patent number: 8494257
    Abstract: Data set generation and data set presentation for image processing are described. The processing determines a location for each of one or more musical artifacts in the image and identifies a corresponding label for each of the musical artifacts, generating a training file that associates the identified labels and determined locations of the musical artifacts with the image, and presenting the training file to a neural network for training.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Museami, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Taub, George Tourtellot
  • Patent number: 8488901
    Abstract: A video input signal is analyzed to detect image content and image properties, wherein detecting the image content includes automatically deriving image features. A content group is determined for the video input signal based on the detected image content, the content group including predefined image properties. The image properties of the video input signal are adjusted based on a difference between the detected image properties and the predefined image properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander Berestov, Chuen-Chien Lee
  • Patent number: 8483490
    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: August 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Lisa Marie Brown, Longbin Chen, Rogerio Schmidt Feris, Arun Hampapur, Yun Zhai
  • Patent number: 8472751
    Abstract: An image processing device that executes deformation of an image. A candidate area setting unit sets candidate areas, each of which includes a specific image, on a target image used as a target for a deformation process. An exclusion determination unit, when there is a candidate area that partially extends off a cropped image that is clipped from the target image through predetermined cropping, excludes the candidate area, which at least partially extends off the cropped image, from the target for the deformation process. A deformation processing unit performs deformation of an image on the candidate areas other than the excluded candidate areas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akio Yamazaki, Goro Ishida, Kosuke Shingai
  • Patent number: 8463072
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer-readable storage medium are disclosed for determining characteristics of light sources. In one embodiment, an image comprising pixels may be received. The image may be affected by a plurality of light sources including a first light source and a second light source. The first light source and the second light source may overlap. The intensity and direction of each of the plurality of light sources in the image may be determined. In one embodiment, the color of each light source may also be determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventors: Sunil Hadap, Jorge F. Lopez Moreno
  • Patent number: 8452125
    Abstract: A system, including a computer system running image processing software, receives an identification of a desired area to be imaged and collected into an oblique-mosaic image, creates a mathematical model of a virtual camera having a sensor higher in elevation from which the source oblique images were captured and looking down at an oblique angle, the mathematical model having an oblique-mosaic pixel map for the sensor of the desired area encompassing multiple source images, determines geographic coordinates for pixels, and selects source oblique images of the geographic coordinates captured at an oblique angle and compass direction similar to the oblique angle and compass direction of the virtual camera. The computer system reprojects at least one source oblique image pixel of the area to be imaged for each pixel included in the oblique-mosaic pixel map to create the oblique-mosaic image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Pictometry International Corp.
    Inventors: Stephen Schultz, Frank Giuffrida, Robert Gray
  • Patent number: 8447126
    Abstract: An image processing method is used for determining a motion vector of a covered/uncovered area within an interpolated picture when picture interpolation is performed. The interpolated picture includes a plurality of blocks, and the image processing method includes: generating a first motion vector and a second motion vector of a block within the interpolated picture; determining which one of the covered and uncovered areas the block is located in, and calculating a reference vector according to the first and second motion vectors; and determining a motion vector of the block according to the reference vector, wherein the reference vector is obtained from vector calculation of the first and second motion vectors using the principle of similar triangles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: MStar Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Chung-Yi Chen, Chia-Hao Chung
  • Patent number: 8447097
    Abstract: When computation of a three-dimensional measurement processing parameter is completed, accuracy of a computed parameter can easily be confirmed. After a parameter for three-dimensional measurement is computed through calibration processing using a calibration workpiece in which plural feature points whose positional relationship is well known can be extracted from an image produced by imaging, three-dimensional coordinate computing processing is performed using the computed parameter for the plural feature points included in the stereo image used to compute the parameter. Perspective transformation of each computed three-dimensional coordinate is performed to produce a projection image in which each post-perspective-transformation three-dimensional coordinate is expressed by a predetermined pattern, and the projection image is displayed on a monitor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Omron Corporation
    Inventors: Shiro Fujieda, Atsushi Taneno, Hiroshi Yano, Yasuyuki Ikeda
  • Patent number: 8442282
    Abstract: In consideration of the fact that a lung field varies in the density of sponge-like tissue depending on an individual or display region, an opacity curve which gives priority to a nodule candidate region or an extended nodule candidate region can be set by generating a histogram concerning a volume of interest which includes a foreground region, and using the statistical analysis result on the histogram as an objective index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuko Sugiyama, Hitoshi Yamagata, Shigeharu Ohyu
  • Patent number: 8442325
    Abstract: A method for recognizing a music score included in an image and various information included in the music score, which may be obtained through a camera provided in a mobile terminal without requiring a separate editing program. The method includes detecting a region with staff lines from the image including the music score; detecting a region with an accompaniment chord from the image by taking the region with the staff lines and a region with a musical note into consideration; extracting and removing the staff lines from the music score included in the image; recognizing the musical note by extracting the musical note from the image, from which the staff lines have been removed; recognizing the accompaniment chord by extracting the accompaniment chord from the image, from which the staff lines have been removed; and generating data for reproducing a sound source corresponding to the musical note and accompaniment chord.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Industry Foundation of Chonnam National University
    Inventors: Tae-Hwa Hong, Byung-Jun Son, Soo-Kyun Kim, Sung-Dae Cho, Guee-Sang Lee, Sung-Ryul Oh, Kun-Hee Park
  • Patent number: 8422731
    Abstract: Embodiments of methods, apparatuses, devices and systems associated with video fingerprinting are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Pawan Gupta, P. Mahaboob Khan, Smita Wadhwa
  • Patent number: 8422794
    Abstract: A system for automatically selecting a template and a number of secondary images for display with a primary preselected image based on analyzing the primary image's attribute information and comparing the template's required image attributes and secondary image's attribute information. The attribute information is used to evaluate and arithmetically score a compatibility of the images and template so that a best compatibility fit can be obtained when displaying the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Fund 83 LLC
    Inventors: Raymond W. Ptucha, Laura R. Whitby, William Bogart
  • Patent number: 8422743
    Abstract: The present invention provides a surface-reading apparatus that includes a subject-flexing mechanism and a surface-reading component. The subject-flexing mechanism causes a subject to flex in one of a convex form and a concave form. The surface-reading component reads a characteristic of a surface condition of the subject that has been flexed by the subject-flexing mechanism. The surface-reading component can includes an optical reading component that optically reads the characteristic of the surface condition of the subject. The optical reading component may be a reflected light-reading component that reads the characteristic of the surface condition of the subject with reflected light or may be a transmitted light-reading component that reads the characteristic of the surface condition of the subject with transmitted light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tadashi Shimizu, Tetsuya Kimura, Kensuke Ito
  • Patent number: 8406482
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for automatically detecting skin tones in an input image are disclosed. An initial skin tone mask for the image may be created dependent on a general skin tone model. An upper threshold and/or a lower threshold may be applied to the initial skin tone mask to identify pixels most likely to be skin pixels and least likely to be skin pixels, respectively. These pixels may be used to produce an image-specific skin tone model, including one or more truncated Gaussian models for skin pixels and/or non-skin pixels defined in a three-dimensional color space. The image-specific skin tone model may be applied to the image to generate a final skin tone mask. Skin tone detection may be automatically or selectively performed in conjunction with image editing or image feature identification operations to target or exclude skin pixels or non-skin pixels during execution of the operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventors: Jen-Chan Chien, Jue Wang
  • Patent number: 8406545
    Abstract: Provided are an apparatus for encoding an image and an apparatus for decoding an image. The apparatus for encoding the image includes a grouping unit to group transform coefficients according to layers and generate groups, a pattern encoding unit to generate and encode the pattern information of each group by using the quantized transform coefficients existing in the groups of each layer in an order from an upper layer to a lower layer, and a level encoding unit to encode levels of the quantized transform coefficients corresponding to the pattern information of the groups of each layer and generate bitstreams along with the pattern information of the groups of each layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Woong-il Choi, Dae-hee Kim, Dae-sung Cho, Hyun-mun Kim