Image analysis indexing apparatus and methods

• US 4,115,805 A
• Filed: 05/23/1975
• Issued: 09/19/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Artek Systems Corp. (Dyna-Tech Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Bausch & Lomb Incorporated (Bausch Health Cos., Inc.)
• Inventors: Morton, Roger R. A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard W.
• Application Number:
  US05/580,393
• Time in Patent Office: 1,215 Days
• Field of Search: 178/6, 178/6.8, 178/DIG. 22, 178/DIG. 36, 178/DIG. 37, 340/146.3 AC, 340/146.3 AE, 235/92 PC, 358/107, 364/515
• US Class Current: 382/305
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/022 by means of tv-camera scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80

Abstract

Described are techniques for extracting indexing data from images scanned in a television raster format and for processing a wide variety of measurement data from images during or subsequent to the scanning operation for determining measurement parameters related to image features. Techniques are described for extracting data at specific multiple points of a feature and correlating the multiple point data from the feature during subsequent data processing. Systems and techniques are also described for storing and indexing data.

Claims

1. A system for extracting data from a field of view and an image of an object in the field of view using repeated scans of the image, comprising:

means for producing a video signal as a function of the image;

means for producing a binary video signal as a function of the video signal of the object image in the field of view;

means for extracting data defining a point within the field of view; and

means for identifying the point to an object in the field of view by a comparison between the extracted point data and binary video signal image related data.

2. An image analysis system scanning an image in a field of view, comprising:

means for storing positional data related to each point identifiable to groups of points within the field of scan;

means for releasing as a function of a point within the field of scan data which was generated during a scan of that point within the field of view; and

means for identifying the released data to a group identified by the point for which the data was released.

3. An image analysis system for scanning a field of view, comprising:

means for storing data related to a point correlated to a group of such points within the field of view; and

means for identifying data generated during a scan of the field of view at a position corresponding to the stored data related to the point correlated to the group of points.

4. An image analysis system employing line-to-line storage of data generated as a function of scanned images, comprising:

memory means for storing the image related data during the scan line;

memory control means controlling the release of image related data from the memory means on a subsequent scan line in such a manner that the sequence of the released data corresponds to the sequence of the stored data such that the time of data release is independent of the time of data storage.

5. An image analysis system performing compound measurements derived from two or more measurements extracted from different fields of scan on each of a number of objects within a field of scan, comprising:

means for performing, during a first field of scan, measurements on individual objects within the field of scan;

means for performing on a second field of scan a different measurement on the objects within the field of scan;

storage means for storing the measurements from each of the field of scans; and

measurement processing means for processing for each object the measurements from each of the field of scans to form a compound meaurement.

6. In an image analysis system for performing measurements on objects in the field of view for selecting qualified points conditional upon the value of the measurement, comprising:

means for providing measurement values on objects during a field of scan by extracting data at predetermined points within and during the field of scan;

means for storing the measurement values extracted during the field of scan;

means for comparing the stored measurement values with a predetermined value to select qualified points from the predetermined points; and

controlling the generation of measurement data on a subsequent scan as function of the data extracted from the qualified points.

7. In an image analysis system, a method of extracting data from a field of view and an image of an object in the field of view using repeated scans of the image, comprising the steps of:

providing a relatively stationary image in a field of view during respective fields of scan of the field of view;

generating data describing points within the field of view;

storing the data describing the points within the field of view;

identifying the points to the image of the object within the field of view;

scanning the image of the object in the field of view a multiplicity of times;

generating video data as a function of the video signal of the scanned image of the object in the field of view for each scan of the object; and

identifying generated video data to an object as a function of the relationship of the points within the field of view to the image of the object.