Object analysis of multi-valued images
First Claim
1. A computerized method of analyzing a sensory-input field containing three or more distinct classes of objects, said method comprising:
- representing the field as a 2-dimensional array of elements in which (a) each element represents a portion of a single object in the field, (b) all of the elements representing the same class of objects are assigned a single classification value, and (c) each of the three or more classes of objects in the field is assigned a different classification value,scanning each individual element in the array systematically with a 2×
2 window containing the element being scanned and three adjacent and connected window elements, where each of the adjacent window elements has been previously assigned an object label which uniquely identifies an object containing such adjacent element,determining the classification value of each individual element being scanned,matching the classification values in the 2×
2 scanning window with one of fifteen same/not-same case patterns which indicates which of the elements in the window have the same classification values, and which have unique values, irrespective of actual classification values,from the same/not-same case pattern associated with the 2×
2 window, assigning the element being scanned an existing object label or a new object label,storing the object labels determined for each of the scanned elements, andby said scanning and assigning, identifying each separate object in the field by a separate object label.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Method and apparatus for analyzing a 2-dimensional sensory-input field containing three or more distinct classes of objects. The field is represented by a 2-dimensional array of elements in which each separate class of objects in the field has a separate classification value. The field is scanned with a 2×2 window containing the element being scanned and three adjacent and connected window elements, where each of the adjacent window elements has been previously assigned an object label which identifies one object containing that element. If the element being scanned has the same classification value as any of the adjacent window element, it is assigned the object label of that same-classification window element. Otherwise, the element being scanned is assigned a new label. If the element being scanned has the same classification value as two adjacent and orthogonal elements, and these orthogonal elements have been previously given different object labels, the two different object labels are merged. The result is to identify each separate object in the image. Geometric properties of the objects can be calculated during the scanning procedure.
30 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A computerized method of analyzing a sensory-input field containing three or more distinct classes of objects, said method comprising:
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representing the field as a 2-dimensional array of elements in which (a) each element represents a portion of a single object in the field, (b) all of the elements representing the same class of objects are assigned a single classification value, and (c) each of the three or more classes of objects in the field is assigned a different classification value, scanning each individual element in the array systematically with a 2×
2 window containing the element being scanned and three adjacent and connected window elements, where each of the adjacent window elements has been previously assigned an object label which uniquely identifies an object containing such adjacent element,determining the classification value of each individual element being scanned, matching the classification values in the 2×
2 scanning window with one of fifteen same/not-same case patterns which indicates which of the elements in the window have the same classification values, and which have unique values, irrespective of actual classification values,from the same/not-same case pattern associated with the 2×
2 window, assigning the element being scanned an existing object label or a new object label,storing the object labels determined for each of the scanned elements, and by said scanning and assigning, identifying each separate object in the field by a separate object label. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. Apparatus for analyzing a sensory-input field containing three or more distinct classes of objects, said apparatus comprising:
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a classification device for representing the field as a 2-dimensional arary of elements in which (a) each element represents a portion of a single object, (b) all of the elements representing the same class of objects are assigned a single classification value, and (c) each of the three or more classes of objects in the field is assigned a different classification value, means for scanning each individual element in the array systematically with a 2×
2 window containing the element being scanned and three adjacent and connected window elements, where each of the adjacent window elements has been previously assigned on object label which uniquely identifies an object containing such adjacent element,program means for (i) determining the classification value of each individual element being scanned, (ii) matching the classification values in the 2×
2 scanning window with one of fifteen possible same/not-same case patterns which indicate which of the elements in the window have the same classification values, and which have unique values, irrespective of actual classification values, and (iii) from the same/not-same case pattern associated with the 2×
2 window, assigning the element being scanned an existing object label or a new object label, anda storage buffer for storing the object labels assigned to each of the scanned elements. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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Specification