POS terminal, information processing device, white balance adjustment method, and recording medium

• US 10,708,561 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2015
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Inoue, Takanori, Yokoi, Hideo, Kobayashi, Jun, Muramatsu, Eiji, Yamada, Hiroshi, Iwamoto, Kota, Inoshita, Tetsuo, Shiraishi, Soma
• Primary Examiner(s): Hallenbeck-Huber, Jeremiah C
• Application Number:
  US15/129,354
• Publication Number:
  US 20170180693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,938 Days
• Field of Search: 348150
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/146 the method including quality enhancement steps
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 Determination of colour characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0009 Details of the software in the checkout register, electronic cash register [ECR] or point of sale terminal [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/88 for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control

Abstract

To provide a POS terminal or the like which enables adjustment of white balance of an object to be sufficiently accurate even in the change of external light illuminating the object. The POS terminal includes: an image capture unit which captures an object including a plurality of respectively different reference colors and generates an image; a comparison unit which compares a portion of the image relating to each of the reference colors with a standard image which is a standard of the reference colors; and an adjustment unit which adjusts white balance based on a result of the comparison.

Claims

1. A Point of Sales (POS) terminal comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to;

capture a product and generate an image;

specify and recognize the product from the image;

compare a plurality of portions of the image, including one or more colors of the product, with a standard image including one or more reference colors corresponding to the specified product; and

adjust white balance based on a result of the comparison.

2. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

compare a feature value of at least one of the plurality of portions of the image including the one or more colors with a feature value of the standard image including the one or more reference colors.

3. The POS terminal according to claim 2, wherein

the standard image is an image acquired by capturing the one or more reference colors under a predetermined condition.

4. The POS terminal according to claim 2, wherein the one or more reference colors are:

colors indicated on a color pattern,

colors of another product, or

colors of a card provided in an image capture range.

5. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the standard image is an image acquired by capturing the one or more reference colors under a predetermined condition.

6. The POS terminal according to claim 5, wherein the one or more reference colors are:

colors indicated on a color pattern,

colors of another product, or

colors of a card provided in an image capture range.

7. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein the one or more reference colors are:

colors indicated on a color pattern,

colors of another product, or

colors of a card provided in an image capture range.

8. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the product includes a plurality of different colors including the one or more colors, and the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

compare at least one of the plurality of difference colors.

9. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

compare the standard image with the image, which includes the plurality of portions including the one or more colors of the product based on feature information of the product image stored in a storage.

10. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

specify the plurality of portions of the image including the one or more colors based on information that is stored in a storage and represents an arrangement of the one or more colors displayed on the product.

11. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

specify one or more parts of the product, wherein each of the one or more parts has a corresponding one of the one or more reference colors.

12. An information processing device comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to;

acquire an image generated by capturing a product, the product including a plurality of different colors;

specify and recognize the product from the image;

compare a plurality of portions of the image, including one or more of the plurality of different colors, with a standard image including one or more reference colors corresponding to the specified product; and

adjust white balance based on a result of the comparison.

13. The information processing device according to claim 12, further comprising:

a POS terminal configured to capture the product including the plurality of different colors and generate the image.

14. A white balance adjustment method comprising:

capturing a product including a plurality of different colors and generating an image;

specifying and recognizing the product from the image;

comparing a plurality of portions of the image, including one or more of the plurality of different colors, with a standard image including one or more reference colors corresponding to the specified product; and

adjusting white balance based on a result of the comparison.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including a processor which causes a computer to execute a method, the method comprising:

capturing a product including a plurality of different colors and generating an image;

specifying and recognizing the product from the image;

comparing a plurality of portions of the image, including one or more of the plurality of different colors, with a standard image including one or more reference colors corresponding to the specified product; and

adjusting white balance based on a result of the comparison.