Image processing using distance as a function of direction
First Claim
1. A method of performing image processing on an image that includes a plurality of locations;
- the method comprising a plurality of choosing acts, each choosing act choosing a starting location;
the plurality of choosing acts together choosing a set of starting locations that includes more than one of the locations in the plurality of locations;
the method comprising, for each of the starting locations in the set, a plurality of distance obtaining acts, each distance obtaining act for a respective one of a plurality of directions;
each direction'"'"'s respective distance obtaining act obtaining respective distance data with respect to the starting location in the set;
the direction'"'"'s distance data indicating a distance in the direction from the starting location in the set to a respective other location at which the image meets a criterion;
the method further comprising an act of combining the respective distance data for each direction for all of the starting locations in the set to obtain combined distance data for each direction;
the plurality of choosing acts together choosing the set of starting locations so that the combined distance data for each direction indicate, for the image, distance in the direction to a location at which the image meets the criterion.
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Abstract
Characteristics of images such as skew of lines of text or dominant typeface of characters are detected by producing distance data. Distance data is produced for each of a number of starting pixels within an image. Each starting pixel meets a criterion, such as an edge pixel or a pixel inside a connected component. Each starting pixel'"'"'s distance data indicates the distance in each of a number of directions from the starting pixel to another pixel at which the image meets another criterion. For example, to detect skew of lines of text, the distance data can indicate distance from a starting pixel at an edge across white pixels to another edge. To detect dominant typeface, the distance data can indicate distance from a starting pixel at an edge or inside a connected component across black pixels to another edge. The separating angle between adjacent directions can be small enough to detect features of an appropriate size at an appropriate distance, such as features of character size at the average intercharacter spacing. The distances at each direction from all the starting pixels can be averaged to obtain a combined distance at each direction. A sufficient number of starting pixels can be used so that the combined distance is approximately the same as if every pixel in the image were a starting pixel. The combined distances at all the directions form a profile.
82 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of performing image processing on an image that includes a plurality of locations;
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the method comprising a plurality of choosing acts, each choosing act choosing a starting location;
the plurality of choosing acts together choosing a set of starting locations that includes more than one of the locations in the plurality of locations;the method comprising, for each of the starting locations in the set, a plurality of distance obtaining acts, each distance obtaining act for a respective one of a plurality of directions;
each direction'"'"'s respective distance obtaining act obtaining respective distance data with respect to the starting location in the set;
the direction'"'"'s distance data indicating a distance in the direction from the starting location in the set to a respective other location at which the image meets a criterion;the method further comprising an act of combining the respective distance data for each direction for all of the starting locations in the set to obtain combined distance data for each direction; the plurality of choosing acts together choosing the set of starting locations so that the combined distance data for each direction indicate, for the image, distance in the direction to a location at which the image meets the criterion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An image processing machine comprising:
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memory;
the memory storing image data defining an image that includes a plurality of locations; anda processor connected for accessing the memory; the memory further storing instruction data indicating instructions the processor can execute; the processor, in executing the instructions, choosing a set of starting locations that includes more than one of the plurality of locations in the image; the processor, in executing the instructions, using the image data to obtain, for each of a plurality of directions, respective distance data with respect to each of the starting locations in the set;
each direction'"'"'s distance data for each starting location indicating a distance in the direction from the starting location to a respective other location at which the image meets a criterion;the processor, in executing the instructions, combining the respective distance data for each direction for all of the starting locations in the set to obtain combined distance data for each direction; the processor choosing the set of starting locations so that the combined distance data for each direction indicate, for the image, distance in the direction to a location at which the image meets the criterion. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification