Efficient method for reading meter values by processing digital images of a meter
First Claim
1. A method for reading a meter, comprising:
- capturing an image of digits displayed by the meter;
for any fully visible digit;
determining a vertical position of the digit;
retrieving a symbol from a symbol mask set;
aligning the symbol and the digit according to the vertical position of the digit; and
correlating the symbol and the digit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for reading a meter includes (1) capturing a first image of digits displayed by the meter, (2) roughly locating the digits by correlating the entire first image against symbols, (3) precisely locating the digits by correlating the digits against the symbols, which are now rotated, resized, and repositioned to maximize correlation, (4) determining and storing nominal centers of the digits in a nonvolatile memory. The method further includes (5) capturing a second image of the digits, (6) locating regions of interest in the second image according to the nominal centers, (7) determining vertical positions of full digits (or partial digits) in the regions of interest, (8) aligning symbols (or partial symbols) and the full digits (or the partial digits) according to the vertical position, and (9) correlating the symbol and the full digits (or the partial symbols and the partial digits).
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for reading a meter, comprising:
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capturing an image of digits displayed by the meter;
for any fully visible digit;
determining a vertical position of the digit;
retrieving a symbol from a symbol mask set;
aligning the symbol and the digit according to the vertical position of the digit; and
correlating the symbol and the digit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for reading a meter, comprising:
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capturing an image of digits displayed by the meter;
roughly locating the digits in the image by correlating the entire image against symbols from a symbol mask set;
after said roughly locating, precisely locating the digits by correlating the digits against the symbols that are rotated, resized, and repositioned to maximize correlation between the symbols and the digits;
determining nominal center positions of the digits; and
storing the nominal center positions of the digits in a nonvolatile memory. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification