Patents by Inventor Claude Fillion

Claude Fillion has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9760789
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer-usable tangible storage device for robustly cropping and accurately recognizing license plates to account for noise sources and interfering artifacts are disclosed. License plate images and sub-images can be tightly cropped utilizing an image-based classifier and gradient-based cropping. An image-based classifier can identify the location of valid characters within the image. Because of a number of noise sources, such as, for example, residual plate rotation and shear in the characters within the image, the image-based classifier performs a “rough” identification of the image boundaries. An additional processing step utilizing gradient-based cropping is performed to fine-tune the license plate image boundaries. Gradient-based cropping eliminates unwanted border artifacts that could substantially impact the segmentation and license plate character recognition results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Conduent Business Services, LLC
    Inventors: Aaron Michael Burry, Claude Fillion, Vladimir Kozitsky, Raja Bala, Zhigang Fan
  • Patent number: 9501707
    Abstract: Methods and systems for bootstrapping an OCR engine for license plate recognition. One or more OCR engines can be trained utilizing purely synthetically generated characters. A subset of classifiers, which require augmentation with real examples, along how many real examples are required for each, can be identified. The OCR engine can then be deployed to the field with constraints on automation based on this analysis to operate in a “bootstrapping” period wherein some characters are automatically recognized while others are sent for human review. The previously determined number of real examples required for augmenting the subset of classifiers can be collected. Each subset of identified classifiers can then be retrained as the number of real examples required becomes available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Orhan Bulan, Claude Fillion, Aaron M. Burry, Vladimir Kozitsky
  • Publication number: 20160307061
    Abstract: Methods and systems for bootstrapping an OCR engine for license plate recognition. One or more OCR engines can be trained utilizing purely synthetically generated characters. A subset of classifiers, which require augmentation with real examples, along how many real examples are required for each, can be identified. The OCR engine can then be deployed to the field with constraints on automation based on this analysis to operate in a “bootstrapping” period wherein some characters are automatically recognized while others are sent for human review. The previously determined number of real examples required for augmenting the subset of classifiers can be collected. Each subset of identified classifiers can then be retrained as the number of real examples required becomes available.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2015
    Publication date: October 20, 2016
    Inventors: Orhan Bulan, Claude Fillion, Aaron M. Burry, Vladimir Kozitsky
  • Patent number: 9042647
    Abstract: Methods, systems and processor-readable media for adaptive character segmentation in an automatic license plate recognition application. A region of interest can be identified in an image of a license plate acquired via an automatic license plate recognition engine. Characters in the image with respect to the region of interest can be segmented using a histogram projection associated with particular segmentation threshold parameters. The characters in the image can be iteratively validated if a minimum number of valid characters is determined based on the histogram projection and the particular segmentation threshold parameters to produce character images sufficient to identify the license plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Vladimir Kozitsky, Aaron Burry, Claude Fillion
  • Patent number: 8934676
    Abstract: A method and system for achieving accurate segmentation of characters with respect to a license plate image within a tight bounding box image. A vehicle image can be captured by an image capturing unit and processed utilizing an ALPR unit. A vertical projection histogram can be calculated to produce an initial character boundary (cuts) and local statistical information can be employed to split a large cut and insert a missing character. The cut can be classified as a valid and/or a suspect character and the suspect character can be analyzed. The suspect character can be normalized and passed to an OCR module for decoding and generating a confidence quote with every conclusion. The non-character images can be rejected at the OCR level by enforcing a confidence threshold. An adjoining suspect narrow character can be combined and the OCR confidence of the combined character can be assessed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Aaron Michael Burry, Claude Fillion, Vladimir Kozitsky
  • Publication number: 20140363052
    Abstract: Methods, systems and processor-readable media for adaptive character segmentation in an automatic license plate recognition application. A region of interest can be identified in an image of a license plate acquired via an automatic license plate recognition engine. Characters in the image with respect to the region of interest can be segmented using a histogram projection associated with particular segmentation threshold parameters. The characters in the image can be iteratively validated if a minimum number of valid characters is determined based on the histogram projection and the particular segmentation threshold parameters to produce character images sufficient to identify the license plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2013
    Publication date: December 11, 2014
    Inventors: Vladimir Kozitsky, Aaron Burry, Claude Fillion
  • Publication number: 20130294654
    Abstract: A method and system for achieving accurate segmentation of characters with respect to a license plate image within a tight bounding box image. A vehicle image can be captured by an image capturing unit and processed utilizing an ALPR unit. A vertical projection histogram can be calculated to produce an initial character boundary (cuts) and local statistical information can be employed to split a large cut and insert a missing character. The cut can be classified as a valid and/or a suspect character and the suspect character can be analyzed. The suspect character can be normalized and passed to an OCR module for decoding and generating a confidence quote with every conclusion. The non-character images can be rejected at the OCR level by enforcing a confidence threshold. An adjoining suspect narrow character can be combined and the OCR confidence of the combined character can be assessed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2012
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Aaron Michael Burry, Claude Fillion, Vladimir Kozitsky
  • Publication number: 20130279758
    Abstract: Methods, systems and processor-readable media for robust tilt adjustment and cropping of a license plate image. A vehicle image can be captured by an image-capturing unit and converted to a binary image utilizing a binarization approach. A long run within the binary image can then be removed and a morphological filtering can be applied to break an unwanted connection between characters due to a license plate frame and an image noise. A connected component (CC) within the image can be identified and screened based on a number of key metrics to remove a most likely candidate character connected component. A line-fit based iterative search process can then be performed for robust tilt removal and vertical cropping of the license plate image to obtain a tight bounding box on the license plate characters if sufficient candidate characters remain after the search process. Otherwise, the region of interest can be rejected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2012
    Publication date: October 24, 2013
    Applicant: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Aaron Michael Burry, Claude Fillion, Vladimir Kozitsky, Zhigang Fan
  • Publication number: 20130272579
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer-usable tangible storage device for robustly cropping and accurately recognizing license plates to account for noise sources and interfering artifacts are disclosed. License plate images and sub-images can be tightly cropped utilizing an image-based classifier and gradient-based cropping. An image-based classifier can identify the location of valid characters within the image. Because of a number of noise sources, such as, for example, residual plate rotation and shear in the characters within the image, the image-based classifier performs a “rough” identification of the image boundaries. An additional processing step utilizing gradient-based cropping is performed to fine-tune the license plate image boundaries. Gradient-based cropping eliminates unwanted border artifacts that could substantially impact the segmentation and license plate character recognition results.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2012
    Publication date: October 17, 2013
    Applicant: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Aaron Michael Burry, Claude Fillion, Vladimir Kozitsky, Raja Bala, Zhigang Fan
  • Publication number: 20070046941
    Abstract: Spectrophotometer color measurement with a target illumination system and a reflected illumination sensing system where the target surface is variably spaced from said spectrophotometer. Color correction calibration information corresponding to color measurements for known different spacings of a test target surface from the spectrophotometer are obtained and stored. In use, the spacing of the actual target surface from the spectrophotometer is measured to provide a target spacing information signal. That signal is automatically combined with the stored color correction calibration information for the corresponding distances to provide at least partial correction of color measurement errors of the spectrophotometer for variable spacing of the target surface relative to the spectrophotometer even with low cost fixed focus optics. The spectrophotometer output can be so corrected by changing the target illumination, such as by LED pulse width changes, and/or by corrective adjustment of the measured reflectances.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2005
    Publication date: March 1, 2007
    Inventors: Lalit Mestha, Tonya Love, Peter Paul, Claude Fillion
  • Publication number: 20060221341
    Abstract: Systems and method provide compensation for temperature induced peak wavelength shift of LEDs is color parameter measuring systems that use a model to reconstruct target color parameter values from the reflectance values measured when the target is illuminated by LEDs. Several models may be constructed, with each model being trained at a unique temperature, resulting in a set of models that span the temperature range of interest. In real-time, the LED based color parameter measuring system measures the temperature and interpolates between the models to estimate the appropriate model to use at the temperature of interest. The estimated model is then used to perform the color parameter value estimation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2005
    Publication date: October 5, 2006
    Applicant: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Peter Paul, Lalit Mestha, Claude Fillion, R. Viturro
  • Publication number: 20050004974
    Abstract: The Device Model Agent (DMA), the device side technology module in Device Centric Services (DCS) system, is the main focus of this invention. DMA is a thin, efficient applications/services execution environment. DMA provides an embedded services platform for enabling system management applications and services. This allows a flexible, extensible, dynamic services management module allowing networked services to be designed, added, and managed within the system without modifications to devices, DCS system, or DMA itself. While this invention specifically describes the integration of benefits from DMA into document system devices, the concepts are equally applicable in other domains. The DMA runtime environment is a thin software interface layer that resides on a document system device between the Java runtime environment and embedded web server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2003
    Publication date: January 6, 2005
    Inventors: Naveen Sharma, Michael Furst, Claude Fillion, Weixia Huang, Michael Kehoe, Arturo Lorenzo, Mary McCorkindale, Robert St. Jacques, Tracy Thieret, John Austin, Marc Daniels, Michael Cavanaugh
  • Patent number: 5497101
    Abstract: A device for dynamic measurement of the clearance between the tips of rotating blades and the stator of a rotary machine comprises a capacitive sensor polarized by a direct voltage and conditioned by a continuously polarized load amplifier having a high-pass filter structure, preferably of the second order. The construction of the sensor and of the cable connecting it to the conditioning device is coaxial. The calibration of the measuring chain can be performed theoretically, without having recourse to any testing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Assignee: Societe Nationale D'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs D'Aviation "Snecma"
    Inventor: Jean-Claude Fillion
  • Patent number: 5173600
    Abstract: The apparatus for detecting impurities in a fluid circuit has a body member associated with a fluid conduit or reservoir which defines a detection zone. A magnet is associated with the body member and communicates with the fluid in the detection zone to attract metallic impurities. Fiber optic members extend from opposite sides of the detection zone, with one of the fiber optic members associated with a light source and the other fiber optic member associated with a light sensor. The light is transmitted by the first fiber optic member into the fluid in the detection zone. The light passing through the fluid is transmitted by the second fiber optic member to the light sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1992
    Assignee: Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs D'Aviation (S.N.E.C.M.A.)
    Inventors: Jean-Claude Fillion, Pascal Makowski, Anne Thenaisie
  • Patent number: 4510809
    Abstract: A first processing circuit receives signals from a vibratory acceleration and a speed of rotation and position sensor and comprises integration and filter means for providing a signal (sb) representative of the amplitude of any untrue running. A second processing circuit receives the output signal (sw) from the speed of rotation and position sensor and the signal (sb) and includes means for determining the phase difference between the signals (sw) and (sb). A memory (33) stores information representative, for different revolving systems and/or test conditions, of the difference between the measured phase difference and the angular position of an imbalance causing untrue running with reference to an origin on the revolving system. Appropriate information is read from the memory and combined with the measured phase difference in response to the actuation of selection means to provide an accurate output of the angular position of any imbalance causing untrue running.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1983
    Date of Patent: April 16, 1985
    Assignee: S.N.E.C.M.A.
    Inventor: Jean-Claude Fillion